Of Werewolves and Foxes
by BlankZeroSeven
Summary: what if Regulus black wasn't what we thought he was? blackmailed into becoming a death eater, his plans to leave are ruined when his wife is killed and his daughter tortured. leaving her in the care of her uncle Sirius, Regulus leaves to destroy the Horcrux. Watch as Siri and the Weasley twins cause havoc! did I mention Siri was a Werewolf? AU, likely OOC and an OC. enjoy!
1. Prolouge

Prologue:

It was early afternoon when Sirius got a knock on his door. He had not been expecting visitors. James and Lily were deep in hiding, Peter was caring for his sick mother, and Remus was off doing Merlin knows what. Making his way to the door, he contemplated who on earth it could be. The only people he trusted with the address of his flat were the Marauders, Lily, and Dumbledore.

Opening the door, he saw a man. A tired, worn man holding a small bundle to his chest. No, Sirius had definitely not been expecting to see Regulus again.

"Sirius, please, let me in" pleaded Regulus, his hands nervously stroking the bundle in his arms "I've left him, I've left You-Know-Who."

'_He makes it sound like some sort of affair' _thought Sirius

"Am I supposed to believe that my little pureblood loving brother has suddenly decided to leave Voldemort? What proof do you have?" asked Sirius, his voice rising slowly, and his eyebrows along with it.

"They killed her Sirius, she's dead." stated Regulus bluntly "and.. and.. they.. they tortured my daughter!" he finished, tears dribbling slowly down his cheeks.

"Who'd they kill Reg? And since when did you have a daughter?" Sirius questioned gently, genuinely curious as to when he became an uncle.

"May I sit down first? It's a rather long story." He asked hesitantly.

"For now I suppose" said Sirius, stepping out of the doorway.

"Thank you Sirius" said Regulus, a grateful smile upon his face as he entered the threshold.

Sirius led the way to the sitting room, his curiousity building with every step. As far as he knew, his brother had no wife, girlfriend, or lover of some sort that could possibly bear him a child, nor did he think his brother was ever interested in either having a partner or a child

Leaving Regulus for a moment, Sirius disappeared into the kitchen to brew a pot of tea to steady both his nerves, and his brothers. Merlin knows they needed it.

When he returned not five minutes later, he found Regulus sitting awkwardly on the couch, the strange bundle still held close to his chest.

'_Wonder what it is that could be so precious to him_' thought Sirius.

"I'm not entirely sure where to start" began Regulus shifting uncomfortably in his seat

"The beginning is always good" joked Sirius, attempting to lighten the mood somewhat.

"The beginning. Right." Said Regulus absent mindedly "I suppose all this began when you left for Hogwarts the first year."

"When you left, there was nobody to protect me from mother and father. They began giving me lessons in the Dark Arts, schooling me in the history of our family and many other pureblooded families, and they drew up a marriage contract with Lyra Malfoy. Lyra was nice enough, she took the fact that she was being forced to marry a complete stranger much better than I, though I think she knew it was coming, she was Lucius Malfoy's little sister after all. I closed myself in my room and refused to come out for days, it was only thanks to Kreacher that I didn't starve. I tried to write to you, I sent letter after letter, but you never responded" at this point, Regulus' tone became bitter

"I thought you'd abandoned me, that you didn't care. So I gave up and left my room, resigned to my fate. You didn't come home for any of the Holidays; I had no chance to talk to you, no opportunity to ask why you never wrote back. At the time, it felt like the final betrayal. I decided that because you didn't care, I'd let mother and father have their way. I did it partly to spite you, but mostly because, even if I didn't like what they were turning me into, they cared for me in some twisted way."

Sirius could see the pain in his brother's face, and he made to interrupt him, to say that of course he had cared, of course he loved his little brother, but Regulus saw the expression in his face and motioned for him to be quiet and let him continue.

"When I got to Hogwarts for my first year, I saw you sitting at the Gryffindor table, and I was determined to be as far away from you as possible. Seeing you joking around and making merry with the rest of your friends, the Marauders, hurt. I couldn't be around you or them without remembering the betrayal I had felt when you left me alone. I was Jealous Sirius, so jealous that I let mother and father tear us apart. I've regretted it ever since."

"When I turned sixteen, Lyra and I were married. It had all the pomp and ceremony required of the union of two influential pure blooded families. As I recall, Lucius and Narcissa were married not a week before us in exactly the same Venue. Unlike Lucius and Narcissa, Lyra and I had actually developed feelings towards each other, born from the hatred of how our families treated us. Not to long after that, Lyra became pregnant and gave birth to our beautiful daughter one august 15th. They used my family against me Sirius, they black mailed me into joining the Death Eaters and serving the dark lord."

"Earlier this week I was out finalising the details of the illegal port key I had ordered. My family could finally be free. When I got home, the house was empty. The door had been broken down and the wards dismantled. It was Bellatrix, she was the only one who knew the wards as well as you and I. she kidnapped my family and took them to the Lestrange family home. When I got there, my wife was already dead, and my daughter was close to joining her."

"They dissaperated, leaving me alone with my broken family. I grabbed my daughter and I came here, to the only person I trust." Finished Regulus, eyes downcast, tears dripping from his face.

Sirius watched as Regulus leaned back and began to unwrap the bundle on his lap. The fabric fell away slowly, revealing a small girl

"This'll be your daughter then? What's her name?" he asked, drawing closer to the sleeping child, before recoiling back in shock.

"Do you doubt me now brother?" he asked sorrowfully as he stroked the child's hair. Or at least, what was left of it. The pale brown hair was matted with blood, blood that still wept sluggishly from unclosed gashes on the girl's scalp. Her face was a tapestry of greens, yellows, purples, and blues, showing that the torture lasted a minimum of at least three days. Her tiny body was covered in scabs, some larger than others, that were likely to scar as they healed, permenately marking her skin. But worst of all, was the bite. The huge bite mark that encompassed nearly her entire body.

"No" Sirius whispered "they didn't..."

"But they did Sirius. They tortured her in front of her mother, and when her mother didn't give in, she was killed. My little girl was left for dead. Of course, not before the bastards let Greyback near her" Regulus whispered bitterly "they knew I was planning to leave, planning to take my family and get them somewhere safe. So they killed my wife and turned my daughter into a werewolf."

"Reg, I... I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could do." said Sirius, his heart aching for his previously estranged younger brother.

"Actually, if you are willing, there is one thing.." Regulus began, trailing off as he thought of how his brother might react.

"Anything Reg" prompted Sirius "anything at all"

"Could you look after her for me, look after my daughter? I have a mission to complete that will have a vital part to play in defeating the dark lord"

"I'd be happy to Reg" said Sirius as he once again moved closer to his niece.

"Be warned Sirius, I may not come back from this, and you may end up looking after her as a full time parent. I understand if you-"

"Oi!" said Sirius, cutting short his brothers spiel "she's my flesh and blood, and if you trust me, I will care for her like she is my own. Werewolf or not." He finished, smirking at his younger brother.

Moving his daughter to the side, Regulus threw himself at his brother, clinging on to him with a bone crushing hug. Weeping freely into his brother's shoulder, Regulus muttered his thanks over and over. After a while, Regulus released the other man and walked back to his daughter, whose eyes had just begun to flutter open.

"This is Your Uncle Sirius, he's going to be looking after you for a little bit" Regulus explained, smiling sadly at the girl. She whispered something quietly, and Sirius only just caught it.

"Lo you"

"Love you too my little angel. And don't worry Padfoot will stop the bad men from ever hurting you again." said Regulus as he straightened up and prepared to leave. Smoothing out his robes, he turned and walked to the door. Just as he was about to exit, his head turned back over his shoulder. "Her name is Siri, Siri Lyra Black, after her uncle. She's One."

And before Sirius could stop him, Regulus had apperated, leaving him as sole guardian of little Siri.

A/N:

Lemme know what you think! First Harry Potter FF so I'm not expecting it to be great. Feedback appreciated!


	2. Ten Years On

**Don't own it.**

Chapter 1: 10 years on

It had been ten years since the day Sirius became a pseudo father for Siri. He'd apparently been doing a good job of it, as people often assumed Siri was his child. He never corrected them though, Dumbledore had advised him not to reveal her true heritage to the world for fear that any Death Eaters that remained at large would come after 'the traitor's child'.

Siri was eleven now, having just celebrated her birthday a few days earlier. It seemed to Sirius that children got extremely more irritating each year, instead of more mature as most of the children would state. Speaking of immature...

"UNCLE PADFOOT!" shouted the voice of a young girl, slightly muffled from the walls and the pillow it had travelled through "I HAVE MY LETTER!"

Footsteps echoed through the house, closer and closer. They reverberated inside the walls, shaking Sirius' bed slightly with the amount of force that must have been put into the stomps.

"Siri Lyra Black," began Sirius "if I get up and find craters in my floor I swear I'll- OOF!"

Sirius had been abruptly cut off by the appearance of his niece. Of course, being a Black, she couldn't simply shake him awake, or even tip a pitcher of cold water on his head. No, she had to dive bomb him before jumping up and down on his bed until he was bounced off. He hit the floor with a resounding smack, drawing a muffled curse from his lips as he fought his way free of the white cotton sheets that were attempting to strangle him.

His niece remained oblivious to his plight, still jumping up and down on her poor uncle's bed like a rabbit on a sugar high. Had the bed been human, or any other living creature for that matter, it would have been dead by now.

Finally free, Sirius addressed his insane little ward "by your reaction, I'm guessing my little witchling received her Hogwarts letter?"

"Yes! Yeah! Yup! I did! I have! I-" Siri was cut off by her uncle's silencing spell. Unfortunately, silencing spells did not cover body expressions or gestures. Sirius could understand exactly what Siri meant when she drew her thumb across her throat, eyes threatening bloody murder if he didn't act fast.

Doing the smart thing, Sirius spun on his heel and ran from the room shouting a quick "I love you" over his shoulder. Quickly releasing the spell, he made a mad dash for freedom.

He sprinted down the hall, ignoring the ominous "Sirius Orion Black, I am gonna kill you!" that came from his fast approaching niece.

He was close, the front door was 2 meters away.. 1.. There!

Thump!

Sirius slid down the door, his face ground uncomfortably up against the wood, Siri sitting triumphantly on his back. He could just imagine the smirk on her face.

"Lady Black, I beg of you, spare this woeful excuse of a man, for he has not one but two utterly unbearable excuses for family to care for! Without my tender love, they would be entirely alone in the world! Please my lady?" begged Sirius in a decidedly dramatic way

Siri seemed to consider it for a while, shifting her weight backwards slightly to allow him to breathe properly again. Rolling over suddenly, he pinned the small girl to the hardwood floor. Her curly brown hair splayed out across the floor, shinning gold in the early morning light. Her face was a different matter. Siri was glaring up at her Uncle, dark grey eyes promising vengeance, though the look of menace was betrayed by the childish pout upon her lips. Sirius watched as his Niece's pout turned into a sinister smirk. He was so busy watching the child beneath him that he forgot entirely about his nephew.

Sirius was sent flying forward for the second time that morning as Harry hurtled into his back. Siri slipped out of his grasp as he wrestled with the hyper nine year old that went by the famed name of Harry Potter. To Sirius though, Harry would always be pronglet, in honour of his father. Slammed into yet again, Sirius felt his niece jump on top of him, trying to help the pronglet keep him down.

Attempting to get the two young menaces off of him, Sirius began to stand up. Harry squealed with joy, still delighting in the fact he had a father figure that didn't hate him. Siri however, took the opportunity to scramble down and wrap herself around his feet, where she remained for roughly five seconds before her uncle sat on her.

"Enough now," began Sirius, swinging Harry around from his back and placing both his feet firmly on the ground again "if you are both ready in, say, half an hour, we can go to Diagon Alley-" He was cut off by twin shouts of "YES!" as Harry and Siri raced past him and into their rooms to get dressed.

"Well, that went well" he said to himself, as this was the fastest the tykes had ever done what he'd asked.

The children were ready in record time, racing about the house like aforementioned rabbits on sugar highs, though Harry _did_ manage to put his cloak on backwards. Standing by the fire, they stared at him expectantly, eyes flickering between him and the Floo powder. Sirius surveyed them for a moment, doing one final check to ensure they looked okay.

Siri, having worn out her patience during her Uncles first three check overs, looked at him exasperatedly and ground out a "are we going this month or.."

Shaking his head to clear it of a sudden surge of memories, Sirius grabbed a handful of the powder and gestured for his wards to join him. Knowing the drill already, both children stepped forward and grabbed hold of one of Sirius' arms each.

Suppressing a sneeze, Sirius threw down the powder shouting "Diagon Alley!" as he did so.

One dizzying and slightly nauseating Floo later, the strange family appeared in the leaky cauldron with a bang and a burst of smoke. Harry and Siri stumbled forward slightly, still not entirely used to the sensation of travelling through fireplaces, and only their grasp on Sirius' arms saved them from falling forwards onto their faces in front of the rather crowd gathered at the inn.

Sirius stood the children up carefully, dusting the soot from their clothes and wiping it gently from their faces. After taking care of himself and nodding to the Innkeeper, they left the Leaky Cauldron. Sirius could see the eager anticipation in both the children's faces as they passed through the brick archway and out onto the path. Siri had schooled her face to show only a small smile, while Harry was beaming openly at anyone who looked at him. Thankfully, no-one had yet recognised the pronglet to be "the-boy-who-lived". For now, they were safe from pestering by Sirius' reputation as a ruthless auror who had never failed to bring in a target.

He herded the children forward, manoeuvring them through the crowd with practised ease. Flourish and Blotts was first on his list of stores to visit, as it was where he would be collecting all of Siri's school books from, and perhaps also a present for the surprisingly avid reader. The last of the summer heat beat down upon them as they made their way further down the Alley.

After ten minutes of dodging through the crowds, the trio finally reached their first destination. The smell of old parchment hit Sirius in the face as he threw open the doors and let the kids run inside. 'Siri'll be loving this' he thought 'what with the heightened smell and all, I doubt she will let me take her home!'

Keeping half an eye on his wards, Sirius headed over to a free sales attendant and asked politely if he could help him find the correct school books for his daughter, who was just starting Hogwarts this year. Once the man had gotten over his shock at being addressed my Sirius, who was nearly as famous as Harry in regards to banishing Dark wizards, he was very helpful in finding the required course books.

After purchasing said books, plus one extra, Sirius managed to drag Siri and Harry from the store, promising to buy them ice-cream if they swore to be quiet for the remainder of the trip.

The next place on Sirius' list of places to go was Ollivanders. Sirius was particularly looking forward to seeing what type of wand his dear niece managed to acquire. Re-entering the seething mass of people with his wards in tow, Sirius moved purposefully towards the wand shop. People scurried out of his way, and he could only imagine what he looked like to them. They probably thought he was on official business because he was using what Harry called his "work-face". He was absolutely determined to get where he was going, and nothing was gonna stop him.

Reaching their destination, Sirius opened the door for his wards, bowing mockingly to them as they ducked under his arm. The children ran inside and stared in awe at the shelves upon shelves of wand filled boxes. He had to pause for a moment as memories of the last time he had been here washed over him.

"Ah, Lord Black. Oak, 15 inches, Dragon heart string. Quite pliable" came Ollivander's voice, the man himself making his way from the back of the store "Miss Black and master Potter too, what a pleasure! I assume you require a wand for the young mistress?" he finished, directing the question to Sirius

Shaking his head for the second time that day, Sirius responded simply with a "Yes"

"Alright then, step forward please Miss Black" said Ollivander, gesturing for the girl to come closer.

Sirius nudged her gently, causing her to stumble slightly and take a step to right herself.

"Which is your wand arm child?" questioned the man, already searching his shelves.

"My right" responded Siri as she shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, eyeing a floating tape measure that was slowly inching closer.

"Let's see let's see," Ollivander muttered "No." he said, chucking a box over his shoulder "Not this one" he stated, sending a second box to join the first "perhaps…" he trailed off, looking down at Siri "try this one."

Siri took the proffered wand and flicked it, successfully shattering the front window. The young girl looked horrified as she meekly passed the wand back to the maker.

"Not to worry, nothing a quick _reparo_ can't fix!" stated the eccentric old man happily.

With that, he went back to his searching. The man was gone for several minutes until he returned with a new wand for Siri to try.

"This is an interesting one, first of its kind, or at least the first that I have made" explained Ollivander "Willow, 12 inches, extremely pliable. Core of Unicorn tail hair and… Werewolf hair, bound together by blood"

He was interrupted for a moment by Siri's snort "well that's apt isn't it?" she said, turning to look at her uncle

Ollivander continued speaking as if her outburst never happened "It's an Interesting combination, Healers wood mixed with the hair of a dark creature and the hair of the most pure. Interesting things will come from the bearer of this wand, perhaps not great, but certainly interesting"

He passed the wand to the now very curious Siri. Sirius watched his niece jolt forward as she and the wand became acquainted. He was intrigued to say the least. Siri flicked the wand once more, causing a torrent of gold sparks to pour out. Ollivander clapped joyfully, obviously stoked to have gotten it right on his second attempt.

"That'll be eight galleons please Lord Black." said Ollivander once he had finished clapping.

"Siri, do you want take Harry over to the Ice-cream parlour while I grab the rest of your school things?" asked Sirius as he paid the man "Here's a few galleons, you can keep the change if you promise not to stray"

Siri nodded happily and gave him a quick hug before dragging Harry off to get their treat. Sirius watched them disappear into the crowd as he continued down his list.

When Sirius returned from his supply-gathering trip, he found Siri talking animatedly to two red headed boys about the benefits of slingshots versus spoon catapults, and Harry talking with another young red-headed boy and what appeared to be his younger sister. Casting his eyes about, Sirius looked for the parents of the four children. He spotted them almost immediately. Molly Weasley was in the middle of reprimanding Charlie for pranking Percy again when she noticed Sirius' eyes on her.

"Sirius?" she asked hesitantly, not entirely believing he was standing in front of her.

"The one and only!" he responded with a grin as he took in the appearance of Fabien and Gideon's younger sister "last time I saw you, you had just had the twins"

"It's been a very long time hasn't it?" smiled Arthur Weasley as he shook Sirius' hand "come! Sit with us and tell us how you've been since we saw you last!"

"It would be my pleasure my old friend." Replied Sirius as he walked over to the tables his wards and their friends had appropriated for themselves.

"Uncle Sirius!" shouted Harry as soon as he saw him "come meet Ron and Ginny, they're my new best friends!" he explained excitedly

"And Fred and George!" added on Siri "They like pranks as much as we do, plus we're all going to be firsties together!"

"Sirius, are these your children?" asked a rather surprised Molly

"No, Siri is Regulus and Lyra's daughter, and Harry is my half-sister and my best friends son" he responded, smiling sadly

"Regulus had a.. With Lyra.. And Lily is your.. Oh, okay then" said Molly dazedly as her husband pulled out a chair for her to sit on

"I'd thank you not to tell anybody that, but I feel I can trust you after all that's happened" said Sirius, sad smile still firmly in place.

"How are you and Lily related?" questioned Arthur as he rubbed his Wife's shoulder comfortingly

"My father, her mother, rough patch in both marriages and a drunken night of passion. Nuff said" he explained as briefly as possible "James was stoked when he found out, His best friend had become his brother in law"

"Well isn't that something" said Arthur.

The adults lapsed into silence as they watched the children. Ron, Harry, and Ginny were having an argument over which Quidditch team was the best in the league, Ron in support of the Chuddley Cannons, Harry favouring Puddlemere United, and Ginny arguing furiously for the Holyhead Harpies. Siri was demonstrating to the twin how her slingshot worked and, from the looks on their faces, they were enamoured with it. Percy and Charlie were reading quietly, the former reading Hogwarts, A History, the later reading Dragons: Care And Keeping.

By the time they left, addresses had been exchanged, and "play-dates" arranged.

Sirius had no idea what he had done when he let Siri meet the twins.

**A/N: anybody wanna Beta? And lemme know if you get any prank ideas, I have a few planned, but I'm all ears! Thanks for reading guys!**


	3. Of Feasts and Sorting

**A/N: Me no owny. On another note, let's just pretend that the Barney episode "Grown-ups for a day" happened a tad earlier…**

Chapter Two – Of Feasts And Sorting

A fortnight later saw Siri and her rag-tag family arriving at Kings Cross in a very Sirius-like manner. That is to say, they roared into the station on the back of her uncle's motorcycle. The thing was huge and extremely obvious, but it somehow managed to get through security, onto the normal platform, and through the barrier with ease.

Siri heard the Weaselys before she saw them.

"That was WICKED!" shouted Ron, heading towards his newly-claimed best mate and his strange little family.

Being held to Sirius' chest as she was, when he threw back his head, his laughter reverberated through her. She too chuckled softly, watching as her not-quite little brother scrambled from the side car to launch himself at his best friend. Siri was still smiling when Ginny joined their conversation about how they should get to go to Hogwarts too!

She slid silently from the over-sized bike, feet making no noise as they connected with the ancient pavement below. Her trunk was easy enough to remove, as Sirius had cast a feather-light charm on it before they left the house. Helios ruined her quiet by screeching indignantly at her when she accidently knocked the owl's cage against the edge of the side car.

"M'lady please," began one of the twins' voices from behind –_very close_ behind- startling her

"Please allow us-" said the other. Siri spun around, only to find their faces mere centimetres from her own.

"The great honour-" Fred stopped speaking. Not by choice, but because Siri's hand had covered his and George's mouths before they could finish their offer.

"I can carry my own trunk thank you boys, have we not already proven I am stronger than the pair of you?" she questioned, removing her hands from their mouths when she felt wet tongues on her palms so that she could rub the saliva they had deposited there into their faces.

Siri smirked at them as they flinched back and winced slightly, shaking their hands to rid them of a phantom ache, recalling the results of their test of strength/arm wrestle.

"Come on kids! The train will leave without you if you don't hurry up!" yelled Molly from where she was fussing over Ron and Harry.

"Alright mum! We're coming!" the boys shouted in unison as they hurried towards their mother for last minute goodbyes.

Sirius turned from his nephew and smiled gently, almost sadly, at his niece. She could see that he was remembering better times, and that made her sad. One day, she was going to make him better, fix the world so that he would be happy again, so his eyes wouldn't cloud over with longing anymore. One day.

"Come on Siri, Molly is right you know. Best be off now or the train'll ditch you with us for another year!" he joked, opening his arms wide for her as she threw herself at him for what would be the last time in over two months.

"Remember your potion" he whispered in her ear as he pulled back to study her face

"Always" she smiled back at him

"I love you kiddo" he stated, obviously still wrapping his head around the fact that his niece, his very first ward, would not be with him as constantly as always.

"I love you too Padfoot" she returned

"Alright, soppiness over, off with you!" he finished, waving vaguely in the direction of the now slowly moving train.

Siri sprinted after the locomotive, heading for the door that had two heads of red hair poking out. Throwing herself aboard just in time, she turned to hang out the door and wave at her family until they disappeared from view. Spinning around, she gave the boys in front of her a quick once over before nodding to herself.

"Right boys, we need a compartment Sirius gave me a great idea for the sorting ceremony"

…..

The train slowed gradually as it pulled into the lantern lit brightness of Hogsmeade station. The students on board were eagerly anticipating the moment that they could jump off and start the second and final leg of their journey to Hogwarts. Siri was as excited as every other first year, but all her face showed was a small smile, all her eyes betrayed were the tiniest of sparks.

"How do you _do_ that?" questioned George, face betraying his surprise.

"Aren't you excited?" asked Fred, expression mirroring that of his brothers.

"I am excited, I just don't feel the need to broadcast that to the rest of the school" began Siri "and I can do it because I'm just that awesome"

The twins muttered to themselves, though Siri only caught the occasional "girls!" and "stupid Sirius"

The Trio were brought out of their respective thoughts as a loud voice boomed through the station.

"Firs' years! Firs' years to me!" it bellowed

Siri looked about attempting to figure out where the voice was coming from, and how the heck it could be so loud. Her eyes fell upon the form of a colossus of a man wearing what appeared to be several different animal pelts fashioned into a coat.

"Firs' years to me!" he called again, swinging his equally large lantern to and fro.

"Well come on then, Hogwarts is waiting!" shouted the twins, each hooking one of Siri's arms and dragging her towards the huge man.

"Hullo there!" he greeted them as they came closer "Yeh two boys wouldn' 'appen to be Weaselys would yeh?"

"Er, yes" replied Fred, shifting from foot to foot in his nervousness

"Ah, I know your brother, talks 'bout yeh a fair bit, when we ain' talkin' 'bout dragons 'o course!" he responded jovially

"Oh!" realised George "you must be Hagrid then, Charlie's talked a fair bit about you too"

"Has he? Brilliant!" said Hagrid "Righ', come along now, I got's to get yeh's to the castle on time!"

With that he meandered off, a trail of first years close behind. They walked for a short while before they came upon the edge of a rather large, rather dark, lake. There were several boats sitting near the shore, which Hagrid then gestured for them to board, climbing into his own as he did so.

Fred, George, and Siri made for the closest boat, one already occupied by a dark skinned boy with Dreadlocks. He looked up at them as they approached, apparently startled.

"Do you mind if we join you?" asked Siri politely

The boy looked taken aback "uh, sure. I'm Lee Jordan by the way" he replied

"Fred" said George

"George" said Fred

They turned to look at each other, seemingly confused

"No wait!" they shouted "Wrong way round!"

Siri shook her head, hiding the grin that threatened to break out on her face

"Ignore them, they think they're funny" she told him, ignoring the twins as they clutched at their hearts in mock agony "I'm Siri, nice to meet you"

He smiled hesitantly up at her, offering her a hand as she stepped into the boat. The twins just dived over the side, causing the boat to rock precariously, and almost spill them out into the water.

Not long after that introduction, the magically propelled dinghies –for they had to be magic, there were no oars, sails, or motors- set off across the glassy lake. The multitude of boats caused ripples to radiate out into the dark night.

All of a sudden, the massive castle that was Hogwarts loomed up out of the darkness. The windows were tiny pinpricks of light, but they were enough to comfort the more nervous students. The great stone towers of the school looked down on them, watching as they drew closer to the castle, the feast, and the rest of their schooling.

Siri was the first to exit the boat, leaping forward and landing softly on the stones and pebbles that littered the shore. Fred and George followed after her, herding a very nervous Lee in front of them.

"Ah! 'ello professor McGonagall" said Hagrid, smiling at a person not yet in view "I got yer firs' years"

"Thank you Hagrid, I shall take them from here" smiled the woman dubbed McGonagall.

Siri watched the teachers face as she observed the fresh batch of first years. She was stern, that much Siri knew from her uncles stories, but there seemed to be an underlying softness that was buried just beneath. Her black hair was pulled back into a tight bun, adding to the no-nonsense air she had about her. Her robes were emerald green, which Siri found mildly amusing considering the Woman was head of the one house with a long running rivalry with Slytherin.

Once satisfied, McGonagall said "Welcome to Hogwarts" before turning and indicating that they should follow her. The castle was even Grander up close. The sheer size of the massive lump of rock was overwhelming. McGonagall pulled open the door to the entrance hall and let them file in, directing them to a small room of to the side. She turned to them once more and began to speak.

"The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room"

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours"

"The sorting ceremony will begin in a moment, please wait quietly until I return" she finished as she exited the cramped space.

"Boys" whispered Siri, gesturing for them to come close "It's almost time"

"Are you sure this'll work?" asked Fred

"We've never heard of something like this happening before…" tagged on George

"We'll have to see, and look surprised okay? This is our pranking debut!" she answered

Lee looked mildly terrified, though Siri put it down to first year's nerves. She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze as McGonagall re-entered the room.

"Come along now, the ceremony is about to begin" she said, forming them into lines and once more herding them through the hall.

They came quickly to a huge pair of double doors. Talking could be heard through them, indicating that there was a sizeable amount of students already within the hall. The doors were pulled open, the children directed through them and to the front of the massive room.

Siri took in her surroundings, noting the five tables, one for each of the four houses, one for the staff. The roof was brilliant, the stars shining brightly, covered only by the occasional puff of cloud. The candles that were suspended above them bobbed gently, looking more like they were floating on water than stranded in mid-air.

The chatter that filled the halls was beginning to drop off as students and teachers alike spotted the new arrivals. When the hall had finally become silent, everyone turned to stare at a ratty old hat that was sitting on a stool in front of the teachers table.

Siri felt the corner of her mouth lift slightly as she thought about what she was about to do. The twins were watching her out of the corner of their eyes, waiting for her to move. Her hand closed around her wand and she peeked the tip out of her robes just enough for her to aim it and fire a colourless bolt of energy.

The sorting hat began to sing.

"Oh, a silly hat. A silly hat.

I wear it on my head because that's where it's at.

And I know it looks as funny as can be.

Oh, a silly hat. A silly hat.

I wear it on my head because that's where it's at.

And I like it 'cause it feels like part of me.

It may be too big or maybe too little.

It might even have a hole in the middle.

And it might be coloured red or blue or green.

And if someone saw my silly hat,

That I had on my head because that's where it's at.

They'd think it was the funniest thing they'd seen.

Oh, a silly hat. A silly hat.

I wear it on my head because that's where it's at.

And I know it looks as funny as can be.

Oh, a silly hat. A silly hat.

I wear it on my head because that's where it's at.

And I like it 'cause it feels like part of me.

It may be too big or maybe too little.

It might even have a hole in the middle.

And it might be coloured red or blue or green.

And if someone saw my silly hat,

That I had on my head because that's where it's at.

They'd think it was the funniest thing they'd seen.

And I like it 'cause it feels like part of me."

The occupants of the hall stared at the hat, stunned.

"Tonks-" began one of the teachers, whom Siri would learn latter was professor Sprout, head of Hufflepuff.

"It wasn't me! I swear!" shouted Siri's cousin, cutting off the teacher.

At this point, some of the muggleborns had recognised the song for what it was -a short tune from the kids show "Barney"- and had begun to laugh. Before long, the rest of the school joined in.

McGonagall was eyeing Siri warily, obviously suspecting that she had something to do with the sorting hats choice of song for the evening. Siri just smiled innocently at the woman, channelling her inner Sirius.

"When I call your name, you will come forward, put on the hat, sit, and be sorted" she said, still watching the young Black girl.

"Avery, Roger"

A beefy blonde haired boy stepped up, smug expression firmly on his face. The hat considered for several seconds before shouting "SLYTHERIN!"

"Black, Siri"

The whispers started as she stepped forward, and she managed to hear a few before the hat covered her ears. "..Bad family, dark.." "..dad an auror.." "..Slytherin, all but her dad.." were but a few.

'_Hi'_ she said, knowing the hat could hear her

'_Hello' _it responded somewhat grumpily _'can I ask you not to do that ever again? I work hard on those songs you know!'_

'_Okay. Can I be sorted now?'_ she asked the hat

'_Fine.'_ It said, muttering something about impolite, impertinent, little blighters _'I see Intelligence, but not a calculating, controlled mind. Perhaps not Ravenclaw. I see great loyalty, yes, very loyal to those who have earnt your trust, Hufflepuff would fit you well. You are not cunning, nor would you flourish in Slytherin being who –or more specifically- __**what**__ you are.' _The hat stopped for a moment, delving deeper into her mind _'your bravery, my, I've not seen anyone so brave since Sirius Black sat beneath me. Yes, you would do well in-'_

"GRYFINDOR!"

Siri shot right up out of her seat, dropping her composure completely to throw her arms in the air and shout "YES!"

The Gryfindors burst into applause for their newest member, laughing with her as she tripped down the stairs after placing the hat back on the stool.

Siri brushed herself off, still grinning even after introducing her face to the ground. She looked to her friends and sent them a thumbs up as she slid into her seat.

George rolled his eyes at her, while Fred just mouthed "I'm just that awesome?" back at her mockingly. Siri narrowed her eyes at her friend and pulled out one of the small pebbles she kept in her pockets for just this occasion. Aiming carefully at Fred, she set the stone on her thumb. With a flick of her index finger, it was off. The pebble arched beautifully before landing in the targets ear.

It was Fred's turn to glare. Siri just suck her tongue out at him, retracting it and ducking down just in time to keep it from being hit by the rotting cherry he sent back in retaliation. Siri returned fire, missing by mere centimetres and smacking George solidly in the nose. This led to George joining the skirmish between the two, on Fred's side of course. Lee just watched the fight with mild interest until he himself was called up and sorted into Siri's house.

A few minutes later, professor McGonagall had to break it up when it was Fred's turn to be sorted. George and Siri just continued without him until they could finish at the Gryffindor table, as both Weaselys were without a doubt certain to end up in the house of the brave.

They had to be more subtle when the headmaster began to speak. Pebbles and cherries were flying back and forth between the trio, until Siri over shot, managing to nick a rather large Slytherin in the back of the head. Thankfully for her, he immediately assumed it was his arch-nemesis in Gryffindor, and proceeded to throw a cake at him (as the Head Master had declared the feast open moments ago). Unluckily for Siri, the arch-nemesis happened to be Charlie Weasley, who was sitting right next to her.

Charlie shot to his feet, shouting indignantly. He retaliated in the easiest way possible, snatching up a treacle tart and lobbing right back at the oaf. The boy's friends quickly came to his defence, jumping up from their seats and firing a barrage of different deserts and dinners at the scrambling Gryffindors. Siri leapt to her feet, grabbed a handful of mashed potatoes and roared:

"FOOD FIGHT!"

She then chucked her ammunition at the Slytherin standing next to the Oaf. She was grinning like a maniac, throwing food at everything green and hitting a majority of her targets. On the opposite side of the table to her, George was dumping a pot of Gravy on his twin's head, whilst Fred tipped tomato soup into his brother's hair in retaliation. She was not expecting Lee to join in; he had seemed so timid during the time they had known each other, so she was not expecting the chocolate pudding that he poured onto her head.

Siri spun around to look at him, shock written into her features. The boy had the nerve to shrug at her, and then return to the melee she had accidently begun. She got her vengeance by dumping a pot of mushroom soup into his dreadlocks. Both had to duck when a suckling pig came flying at them from the direction of the Slytherin table. It skimmed the tops of their heads and clattered noisily onto the Ravenclaw table behind them.

The students that had been hit by the pig were pulled up by their comrades, and after a thorough wiping off, joined the fight against the Slytherins. The teachers were most displeased by this turn of events, as the fight was beginning to spread to all four of the houses. McGonagall shook her head in disappointment, watching as the hall became a seething pit of madness.

"STUDENTS!" she shouted, attempting to draw their attention, only to be ignored.

"GRYFFINDORS!" she tried, only to be ignored once more.

"Oh to heck with it" she murmured "_IMMOBILIUS"_

Food froze mid-flight, hovering above targets, casters, and bystanders alike. The errant students were similarly restrained, only one was still moving.

"Thanks Minnie!" shouted Siri as she continued to throw handfuls of food at the un-moving Slytherins

"_Immobilius!"_ repeated McGonagall

Siri's eyebrows drew together as she concentrated, tongue protruding slightly from her mouth. A few seconds of this and she was moving again, this time glaring at the professor who had immobilised her.

"Why'd you do that again? They're sitting ducks!" she asked, hands on her hips, irritation shown in her stance.

"How did you regain your movement?" questioned the professor, seeming to have forgotten about the multitude of students she had managed to still.

Siri shrugged "I was a nightmare for Sirius as a toddler; he used that spell to stop me getting too far away from him. Over time, I learnt how to get out of it. Y'know that finite incantatum thingy? I made my magic do that" she explained

"Intriguing," began McGonagall "But you still began a food fight during the sorting feast, yes I did see the pebble Miss Black" she tagged on as Siri started to protest "so you will receive 1 weeks detention along with Messer's Fred, George, and Charlie Weasley." Turning to look at the Slytherin who threw the first cake, she continued "Mister Mulciber, you will also be serving 1 week of detention for the rather un-warranted reaction of throwing a cake –_a cake-_ at Mister Weasley"

McGonagall was not expecting the twins to jump up and shout "That doesn't count!" once they and the other students had been released. She was equally surprised by Siri's response of "Does too! She said my name first!"

"And what, might I ask, are you arguing about now?" she asked the shouting trio, eyebrow raised.

"Nuh-uh, it was in the same sentence!" returned one of the boys, Fred perhaps?

"Yeah! You don't win!" tagged on George

"Do too! Sirius said first one to get detention, and that's me!" Siri shouted back at them, unwittingly answering McGonagall's question.

"I should have known" she muttered mournfully under her breath, head in her hands "she was raised by _Sirius Black_ after all"

Raising her head from her palms, she straightened and looked at the food covered students, who were now animatedly describing their best hits, dodges, and near misses, and spoke

"I would advise you all to go back to your dormitories and take a shower before the food sets in, Prefects, you know what to do"

"NICE TO MEET YOU MINNIE!" shouted Siri as she sprinted from the hall, dragging Fred and George along with her, Lee trailing just behind.

Siri saw the teacher sit down heavily and just picked up her murmur of "and there's _another _one coming in two years"

…..


	4. Of Potions and Mobs

Chapter Three: of Potions and Mobs

It was the sun that woke Siri that morning. It streamed in from a miniscule crack in the heavy red drapes that covered the window and focused solely on her eyes. She let out a loud groan, rolled over, and stuffed her head under the pillow, before sitting bolt upright and grinning like a maniac. The deep red duvet was cast aside as she leapt from her bed, tiredness apparently forgotten. She raced for her trunk, drawing from it her own modified version of the school uniform.

She had spent some time with Sirius pouring over the old rule-books, just to see if such alterations were actually allowed. Siri recalled him saying "If you're going to get in trouble, yelled at, or get letters sent home, I would prefer it to be because you are causing chaos, not because you changed the uniform a wee bit". The altercations were not excessive, but were enough to make the general uniform more comfortable, useful, and in her eyes, awesome.

The school pants –for Siri detested skirts- had been cut into shorts that ended just above her knees, baring the winding scars on both her legs for the school to see. The drab, grey jersey had been bleached and dyed red, cut down the middle, and refashioned into a cardigan much like that of the senior students. The billowing, baggy cloak had been cut down and turned into a trench coat that reached the middle of her shins. It came equipped with multiple pockets, all of which had an un-detectable expansion charm placed upon them, a button up front, and a tidy collar around the neck.

The biggest difference between her uniform and that of all the other students attending Hogwarts was the fact she wore no shoes, as she preferred to be in contact with the ground at all times. Instead, they had been disassembled, taken to a leather worker, and turned into bracers she could wear upon her arms. Both had a wand holder in the side that, when she flicked her wrist, would launch her wand into her hand.

Siri looked around her dormitory, noting that the other girls she would be sharing with for the remainder of her schooling had already left. That, and she was running terribly late. After quickly running a brush through her curly brown locks, she tied them back with the regulation school tie, using it for something other than its intended purpose. It served her now as a headband.

Racing towards the door, she snatched up the spiral-bound book that she wrote her thoughts in and shoved it into her pocket. She thundered down the stairs, her bare feet slapping the cold concrete. When she reached the common room, she found Fred, George, and Lee waiting for her. George was hanging off the couch, feet up in the air and head resting on the ground. Fred had been teaching Lee the basics of Quidditch, which was, according to him, his brother, her uncle, her cousin, and just about every other magical being with Testosterone in their bodies, the best sport in the history of the magical world.

When they saw her, they jumped up –or in George's case, rolled down- from their seats and greeted her warmly with a "You were bloody ages!"

"Oh get off it, I overslept, it happens" she told them "too late for food now, so are we going to class or what?"

"Don't do it again." Said Fred petulantly

"We kinda have to, don't we?" questioned George

"We've Charms with the Hufflepuffs first" Lee added, taking Siri's advice and ignoring the twins.

"Alrighty then! To charms we go my dear friends!" she yelled cheerfully, leaping onto George's back, hand thrust forward, and adding "Onwards my trusty steed"

"Neigh" Droned George sarcastically

…..

Charms had been relatively okay for the first class of the year. The lesson had been a little boring, as they were just working on the theoretical, not actually doing any magic. Flitwick seemed an amiable enough fellow, though he did look slightly frightened when she and her companions had arrived. She couldn't blame him; they were a bit of a handful.

Next up was the ever dreaded pairing of Slytherins and Potions. The biased professor Snape was known to detract points from any houses not his own for the most tiny of mistakes and giving points to his own house for the easiest of tasks, such as "looking smart". Siri was definitely not looking forward to the class, for though she enjoyed the brewing of potions, she knew Snape would be especially awful to her, due to the fact the man he believed was her father nearly got him killed.

"Come _on_ Siri, we're gonna be late" said Lee, tugging on his friends arm as she trotted along behind him.

"Don't worry Lee, we'll be fine!" Fred told the boy

"Yeah! Besides, if we're late, we might get more detention!" George added excitedly, almost bouncing at the thought of drawing ahead of his friends in their race.

Siri just shook her head, a reaction the boys seemed to draw from her often. The halls were growing ever-damper as they plodded deeper into the bowels of the school. The stagnant air itched at her nostrils, its smell making her feel slightly ill, an omen of things to come? They pressed onward until they found a group of students, both Gryffindor and Slytherin, lined up against opposite walls.

"Hi!" greeted Siri as she joined her houses queue, the boys just behind her.

"Ah, so they Lady Black has finally decided to grace us with her presence" a man's voice drawled sarcastically

Siri raised her eyebrows and turned to the source of the voice. The sarcastic insult had come from a man with greasy black hair who she recognised from the staff table. He was looking distastefully down his nose at her, like she was filth caught on the bottom of his shoe.

"There is no need to be rude" she told him, hands resting on her hips, expression disappointed "we got lost; we've been here for less than a day after all"

"Do not speak back to me, you insolent child" hissed Snape, his face storming with emotions.

She just cocked her head at him. "I don't like you. You aren't a very nice person."

"Detention" he stated.

"Why thank you ever so much Lord Snape" she said brightly, turning his own insult back at him.

"For one week" he added on, attempting to overcome her happiness at being punished.

"Even better!" she added, flinging her arms out as she bounced into the classroom, leaving the sad excuse for a teacher standing outside.

She sat down at her desk, motioning for Lee to grab the seat next to her, as the twins had already opted to partner up and take the desk one in front of them. Siri pointed her wand at the pocket that rested on her left hip and muttered _engorgio_ under her breath. It was one of the spells that Sirius had taught her in the fortnight before she left for school. From the enlarged pocket she drew her cauldron and textbook. She did not yet remove her ingredients, for she did not yet know what was needed, and didn't want to clutter up the desk with the ridiculous amount she had stuffed into the various pockets of her coat.

She saw Lee's eyes widen somewhat as he realised the function of her multiple pockets, and the large volumes of the objects she had pulled out of the previously fist-sized hole. Siri smiled to herself, she loved the amazement that appeared infrequently on her muggle-born friend's face, it made learning little tricks much more worthwhile. She couldn't wait for his reaction to the prank she and the twins had planned, the mere thought of it drew a small smile to her face.

Just then, Snape swept into the room. He strode to the front of the class and turned abruptly so that he was facing them. His eyes trailed across the room, landing once more upon her.

"Miss Black, you look far too happy for someone who has just received a week's worth of detention. 5 points from Gryffindor" he stated, looking smugly at the eleven year old before him.

She just shrugged and raised her brows at him in a silent challenge. The professor read the "is that the best you got?" in her posture with ease, putting his experience with Sirius' body language to use.

"If you think you are so clever, you wouldn't mind answering a few questions, would you?" he smirked at her, determined to find some fault in her that he could exploit.

"Not at all, professor" she replied, green eyes sparking at the challenge.

"What are the properties of willow bark?" he questioned, still smirking

"When boiled, willow bark can be used in a tea to bring down fevers" Siri responded instantly

"What are the three ingredients of a sleeping draught?" he asked, smirk faltering slightly

"Flobberworm mucus, Lavender, and Valerian sprigs" she answered.

"Which plant causes wounds to seem several days old after application?" he queried.

"Dittany" she replied.

"10 points from Gryffindor for obvious cheating" he told her.

She snorted at him "you know I wasn't cheating, you were in my head. You used legilimency on me, and I let you"

He looked temporarily stunned, for not many students had noticed his probing, and those who did neither knew what it was, or had the audacity to claim to have allowed it. He mentally shook himself and narrowed his eyes at the girl. Ignoring her claim of legilimency, he proceeded to ask "If you did not cheat, how do you have knowledge that is not even covered in the first year?"

"The first one I know from when Harry came down with a fever. He was badly sick, and we had no time to get him to St. Mungos, so Sirius sent me searching for Willow bark while he tried to bring down Harry's temperature. Eventually, I found it. Sirius boiled it up and fed it to Harry. Not to long afterwards, Harry got better." She explained briefly, giving him an odd look.

"The second I know because I frequently have nightmares about…" she paused for a moment "…things. Sirius used to let me help him brew it so I'd know what he put in it, and so I could brew it for myself should I need to. I'm a little paranoid about anything I consume, I've had some bad experiences with people tampering with ingredients" she shifted slightly, hand resting on her left thigh where the deepest wound was hidden.

"The third, well, that relates to the second. I was injured badly as a child, and because of that, I learn what I can about healing. I want to be able to save people, since if Sirius hadn't fixed me up, I would have perished with my mother that night" she finished sadly, blinking back tears that threatened to spill at the reminder of her mother.

"Somehow, I doubt that Sirius Black could have such compassion for a child. He is arrogant, a fool, and deserves loss. Your mother likely left you in a gutter, and Sirius raised you for his own evil ends. It would have been better if you had died then. You know no true pain, your words are lies" he sneered at her

She shot right up out of her seat and marched to the front of the room, placing her face directly in front of his. Short though she may be, she still cut an intimidating figure.

"_I_ know no pain?" she hissed "My mother is dead, tortured to death by her own brother and his foul Death Eater comrades. I barely got out alive. Use your eyes you fool, have you not seen the scars I bear?" she pulled up her sleeves, displaying the jagged scratches and the more intricate swirls carved into her skin, courtesy of Bellatrix. "Do not think that because your past is so tragic, you can look down upon every other person who crosses your path. You are not the only one to have lost the one you loved. I grew up motherless, as did you. Though my father is different to yours, we have both suffered pain and anguish in our childhoods. Think past your self-pity and realise that you are not the only person that has ever been wronged by the powers that be. Grow up Severus Snape, and learn how to treat children" she told him scathingly, whirling around and walking from the class, swiping up her gear and shoving it into her pocket as she passed.

Once she was free of the dungeons, she made for her dormitory and rocketed up the stairs, ignoring the startled faces of a small group of older students who were sitting in the common room. She shoved the door open, dodging it as it ricocheted back from the wall with a bang. Siri flung herself onto her bed and began to punch the head board.

"Stupid" she puffed, slamming her left fist into the wood

"In-sensitive" she accentuated the word with a solid right hook

"Bloody" left uppercut

"Snape" she hissed out his name, halting her furious attack on the innocent headboard to rest her forehead against it instead. She didn't even notice she was crying.

An arm wrapped around her shoulder as a weight settled on her bed, the dip it caused pulling her towards the person it belonged to.

"It's alright, Snape's an Arse, I know" the person whispered softly, soothingly, the voice familiar somehow "Now come, what has he done to make you so upset in your first lesson?"

Siri removed her forehead from the wood and instead burrowed into the person beside her, noticing only the black hair that her face was pressed into. She wrapped her arms around the person, tears still streaming down her cheeks.

"He used Legilimency on me, accused me of cheating in a test designed to have me fail, doubted that Sirius is a good person, said it would be better that I had _died,_ and claimed that I don't know pain, when I know more pain than he will ever see in his entire life if he lived it a thousand times over!" she exclaimed vehemently, not noticing her comforters hair turn red with fury.

"That bloody git, I'll kill him myself!" shouted the person, sounding much more familiar now.

"Nymphie?" whispered Siri questioningly.

"That's right little cousin, Nymphie's got you covered" answered her older cousin, squeezing her tightly.

Nymphadora Tonks rose to her feet, Siri still held closely to her body. Siri felt them begin to move, though she did not look up from where her face was buried in her cousin's robes, nor did she wonder how the Hufflepuff had gotten into the Gryffindor common room. All that mattered to her was she had someone she trusted, someone who was family, with her.

"Right," she heard Nymphie say "who wants to help me go kill Snape?" Siri assumed she was talking to the seniors she had passed in her mad dash for the sanctuary of her room.

"What's he done to get you riled up Tonks? I thought you were the peaceful type?" asked a male voice.

"He insulted my family, and made my eleven year old cousin cry. Never in all the years I have known her, has she done so in front of me, and she broke her leg in a Quidditch accident last year! I'll rip his bloody head off!" she replied, shouting the last line.

"Let's go get a mob." Was the simple reply.

Siri could hear people rising from their seats, muttering angrily to each other. Nymphie was stroking her hair, whispering softly to her, assuring her that she was okay, that she was loved, that Snape was going to die a horrible grisly death.

"Charlie, go get the Ravens, I'll get the Puffs, meet at the dungeon entrance in five." She heard her cousin say. The pounding of feet echoed through the halls as someone, presumably Charlie, took off to fulfil their orders. They walked for a short while longer, until Nymphie stopped and tapped something hollow with her wand in some sort of beat.

Siri felt herself come closer to the ground, and she clung tighter to her cousin in response.

"I won't let you go" whispered Tonks "Not till you want me too" she reassured the little girl hanging on to her for dear life. This was not the brave, happy, Siri that she knew and loved. Snape had crossed a line, and that would not go unpunished.

They rose to their feet inside the safety of the Hufflepuff common room. Siri felt Nymphie glance about, her flaming red hair tickling her nose as she did so. They moved forward and rose a few centimetres, maybe Nymphie was standing on a couch?

"Fellow Hufflepuffs," began her cousin grandly "I'm going to go kill Snape, who's with me?" she finished simply.

"Why Tonks? And who's the outsider?" asked a girl

"The girl is my cousin. Snape made reference to a dark time in her life when she was nearly murdered, claimed she should have died then, and told her in no un-certain terms that she was exaggerating. Look at her scars, and tell me the same Petra" explained Nymphie

Siri released her hold on her cousin, keeping her eyes firmly shut so as not to betray the great trust her cousin had placed in her by allowing her into the Hufflepuff common room. She rolled back her sleeves and opened her coat, showing her scars, her badges of honour, to the watching Hufflepuffs.

"How dare he!" exclaimed the girl, Petra's, voice "we've got to show him he can't treat us like this!"

Siri felt her cousin scoop her up and she reburied her face in the warmth that Nymphie produced, both of the literal and metaphorical kind. She noticed the shift in Nymphie's body as they made their way back out of the common room; they had gone through a tunnel of some kind. Tonks rose to her feet once more, leading a small group of Puffs, as Nymphie had called them. There were nine, excluding her cousin, if her hearing was correct (being advanced by her condition, it usually was). She was stunned. So many people willing to face Snape, for her. Because he had been out of line. Then and there she promised to herself that if any student, of any house, was ever In need of a protector, she would help them in any way she could.

Seventeen more sets of footsteps echoed through the hall, Charlie's lighter footfalls amongst them. In total, there were twenty seven people, a mix of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff fifth through seventh years.

"Charlie told us Snape crossed the line again" said an unfamiliar voice "how far has he gone to warrant this action?"

Releasing her cousin once more, Siri faced the mob of students in front of her. Her eyes were slightly red-rimmed from the tears that had been silently falling from her face till barely moments before. Her hair was tousled and slightly static from the amount of time it had been pressed into Tonks' shoulder.

"He told me I should be dead" she began weakly "that I should have died with my mother. He implied that I'm some attention seeking little brat, that I'm a liar."

More tears began to leak from her eyes, and she ducked her head to hide them.

"Damn it," she cursed to herself, not quite quiet enough to stop the elder students from hearing her though "I hate crying, I never cry!"

Her head ducked as it was, she missed the looks of shock and fury that were shared between the students. Footsteps moved closer to her, stopping so the toes were just within the edges of her vision. A hand positioned itself on her shoulder, its twin touched her chin and angled it so that she was facing its owner.

"Siri isn't it?" the young woman asked her "My name is Lauren, Lauren Clearwater. I'm Head Girl at this school, and we are going to give Snape a telling off for you."

She raised her hand from her shoulder and gently smoothed her tears from her cheeks.

"I don't wanna get him in too much trouble though, he may be a prat, but some of his behaviour is due to awful things in his past. Even if some of them were his own fault. I think Hogwarts is the only place he even has contact with decent human beings, despite the fact he doesn't treat us as such" she told her

"Are you sure you belong in Gryffindor?" she asked her, smiling

"No" Siri answered honestly. In her veins ran the blood of multiple Slytherin Purebloods. It was to her great relief she ended up in the house of her uncle.

Lauren gave her an appraising look "Not the first time I've heard that, I'll admit" she said "but we can talk more about that later."

She turned to the small crowd in front of them and addressed them.

"Right, since Bill is stuck in Ancient Runes at the moment, I'll be taking point on this one. Remember to let me do the talking; I don't want any of you getting expelled for attempted dismemberment of a staff member."

Someone In the back of the crowd groaned, and Siri was sure she heard a "darn" from the same direction.

"Now we've got that all cleared up, let's go." Lauren put an arm around Siri's shoulders and began to walk further into the dungeons.

The thumping of feet filled the echoing corridor with noise, explaining why Snape was standing outside of his classroom waiting for them.

"Ah, brought the Lady Black back I see." Said Snape, sneering at Siri as he made to snatch her from under the Head Girl's arm.

Lauren pulled Siri back, placing her safely out of range behind her. Snape stepped back, surprise shown for a brief second before it was wiped from his face and replaced by his usual sour expression.

"Miss Clearwater, this is an errant student from my potions class, and I would thank you to return her to me so that I may continue teaching her" he attempted to reason with Lauren

"I'm afraid I can't do that Professor, it has come to my attention that your teaching methods are not appropriate for children, or anyone for that matter. We are here to inform you that if you put one toe out of line we will be going to the Board of Governors and explaining to them how you are unfit for teaching at this school." She responded, the students behind her nodding their approval.

"I am a permanent fixture in this school, you will not be rid of me so easily" he hissed.

Siri glared at the man and proceeded to pull the best weapon possible in this situation.

"I'll tell Sirius what you said, and this time there'll be no James to save you" she told him, her inner Slytherin shining through in that one moment.

"You dare?!" he exclaimed, jolting backwards in shock "You dare threaten me?"

"Are we stating the obvious?" she smirked, venting her rising anger through sarcasm

"One month of detention for all of you! And another month for each minute you remain!" Snape shouted, his temper flaring

"Denied Severus" said McGonagall as she pushed her way through the crowd of students "I don't believe their actions warrant so much punishment"

"Miss Black threatened my life! Does that not warrant punishment?" he asked her incredulously

"I heard no such threat. Leave now Severus, before you dig yourself into a deeper hole." She told him strictly.

Snape stormed out of the dungeon. With his robes fanning out behind him, Siri though he looked rather like an oversized bat. It suited him, considering he was very much like the stereotypical vampire that could be found in many muggle cartoons. From now on, Snape was being referred to as Dracula within the confines of her own mind.

"Miss Clearwater, I trust you can inform me what has united so many students in the dungeons when they ought to be completing homework?" McGonagall asked, though it was phrased as a statement.

"Professor Snape has acted in a way that shames the reputation of Hogwarts. He has attempted to humiliate a student, used Legilimency on the same student, and told the student that they should have been killed. Is this not sufficient grounds for the more mature students of this school to intervene and endeavour to put an end to such behaviour?" returned Lauren, every ounce a Ravenclaw.

"I see" responded the professor, her eyebrows furrowed as she considered something "might I speak to this student?"

"Don't see why not" Siri said, shrugging her shoulders as she moved out from Lauren's shadow "Thank you for the help guys, I really appreciate it" she added, smiling at the older students, who, at her dismissal, were beginning to drift away.

"Miss Black. I should have known" the second part of the professors reply was said under her breath, but Siri still managed to catch it easily.

It didn't surprise her that at all that the Head of Gryffindor was expecting her to cause some sort of trouble on her first day, she had taught Sirius after all.

Nymphie was still standing behind Siri, reluctant to leave her, even if it was with a trustworthy professor. The metamorph's entire body screamed 'worried' to anyone with the skill to read words from actions.

"Nymphie, I'll be fine. It's Minnie, she's no evil villainess like Dracula." Siri reassured her cousin, throwing in a joke at the end to hopefully soothe her nerves.

"Alright, but you come find me at dinner, no buts" bargained Tonks, smiling at her.

Siri nodded her confirmation before returning her attention to McGonagall.

"I am a professor, Miss Black. You cannot call me Minnie" scolded the teacher

Siri snorted; as she was prone to doing when people told her things she already knew "Didn't stop Sirius, won't stop me Minnie" she smirked, enjoying the resigned look on the woman's face.

"About Severus," she began, changing the subject "what would you have me do?"

"I think we should go with what Lauren said, leave him alone for now, but if he tries anything else, go to the Board of Governors" Siri replied, watching the woman for her reaction

"Not Dumbledore?" she asked, somewhat surprised

"If Dumbledore chose him as a teacher after his track record and defended him for so long, I don't think he'd let him go without a fight. Therefore, going one step above him seems the best course of action." Siri told her, sounding older than her eleven years

McGonagall looked very surprised now, and somewhat wary of the small girl that stood before her.

"Oh don't look at me like that Minnie, I'm a Black, it's in my blood" she explained

The professor just sighed, raising a hand to her temple and said "Don't forget you have detention with Hagrid tonight, along with Messer's Weasley and Mister Jordan. And what are you wearing?"

"Wouldn't dream of it, and clothes prof" she responded cheekily, ducking back in to the teacher less potions class and proceeding to show them how to finish the cure for boils.

**A/N: almost missed my own deadline… oops. Chapters are getting longer, which means I am both happier and more burdened. Happier cause I myself like longer chappies, and more burdened because I have this on top of school, homework, work, and babysitting. Oh well, see you in a fortnight!**


	5. Of Flora And Fauna

Chapter Four: Of Flora And Fauna

The day passed by uneventfully after the confrontation during potions. Snape had been reported to have been in an extremely foul mood for the remainder of the day, and had apparently been absolutely livid when he returned to his classroom to find that each student had handed in a correct and complete vial full of Boil Cure.

Siri was sitting with her cousin at the Hufflepuff table, in part because she felt she owed the elder girl, and in part because the Gryffindors were giving her strange looks. After all, she had caused the notorious potions professor to essentially have a hissy fit and storm off, and then finished teaching his class as if nothing strange had happened at all during the fifteen minutes she had been absent.

"I'm off to the common room Siri, I'll see you tomorrow!" Tonks called over her shoulder as she was dragged away by an as of yet unknown Hufflepuff male.

"See ya!" Siri shouted back.

Fred, George, and Lee made their way over to where she was sitting; reminding her of the detention she had yet to serve. Siri quickly finished off the apple pie she had been enjoying to stand and greet the boys, then inquire as to whether or not they knew what it was they would actually be doing for their punishment.

"I hope Filch'll hang us up by our feet! That way I can make an awesome hammock with all the chains, or I could pretend to be an acrobat, or I could just swing backwards and forth! It'd be so fun" she babbled at her friends, ignoring their looks of surprise.

"I'd rather not" said Lee

"I think we'd prefer-" began Fred

"-to sit this one out-" added George

"-but you feel free-"

"-to hang out-"

"-whenever you want." They finished together, sniggering at their poor joke.

Siri rolled her eyes at them, and then noticed a scruffy, unkempt man grumpily plodding his way toward their group. His clothes were ragged and his expression would be identical to the face of a person who had just bitten into an extremely sour lemon.

"You lot, follow Me." he said gruffly, walking towards the entrance hall without checking to see if they were following.

Siri ran to catch up to the man, listening to him mumble about "back in the day…" until he finally mentioned chaining people up by their ankles as corporal punishment. Her face lit up and she almost began bouncing up and down as she spoke.

"I want the chains! Please? They'd be so much better than writing lines, lines are boring" she explained to Filch, who was now eyeing her warily, expecting some sort of trick.

"I have the old chains in my office…" he trailed off, knowing that the punishment for _him_ if he strung up a student would not be as "fun" as Siri had put it.

"You should put them back up; I bet you could charge people a knut or two to use them like gymnastics equipment. I mean really, why waste perfectly good chains?" she asked him

Filch was quiet for a short period as he considered her idea. During this period of silence, Siri realised that she was, in fact, outside of the castle, and only getting farther and farther away. The sun had set an hour earlier, and only the light of the not-quite-full moon illuminated the grounds. It was eerily still, the pale moonlight casting deep shadows over the grounds. A gust of wind began to blow from the south, destroying the still and causing the shadows to twist around each other in some archaic dance known only to nature.

The hooting of owls was a background noise, over taken by the rustling of leaves and the clacking of tree branches knocking together like old bones. The wind whispered through the trees, causing them to lean forwards as it imparted the knowledge gained during its travels to their wise and ever listening ears. Siri's own footsteps added to the quiet symphony of night time noises, providing a steady beat in contrast to the discordant tunes provided. The twins' voices, carried by the air currents, found their way to her in muffled snatches. All she heard of Lee was the almost silent thud of his feet upon the earth.

Night had a distinctive smell, and at every location, the scent of night time adds components, making each place unique to someone of Siri's senses. Here she could smell dirt, as she could wherever there were large amounts of the solid. The trees also had their own smell, of sap mostly. Come summer, the stench would become almost overwhelming. She could smell wood smoke too, faint but getting stronger, coming from the direction they were headed in.

"A knut? Yes, that would work" Filch muttered to himself, likely imagining the cleaning products he could purchase with the profit.

"Since I came up with the idea, I'd say it's only fair that I get to use them for free, along with a few friends of course." Siri told the man, continuing on when she saw his eyes narrow "of course, this would only be once, maybe twice a week. It surely wouldn't bankrupt you, and you wouldn't be getting any payment from anyone at all had I not suggested the idea to you in the first place."

"No more than three friends" Filch allowed reluctantly

By the time their discussion concluded, they had reached the source of the wood smoke, a small wooden hut. Hagrid stepped out from the hut, loaded crossbow cradled in his arms. He nodded to Filch, and the man responded in kind, leaving the group to return to the castle when the silent exchange was completed.

"We'll be go'in in't th' forest t'night" he stated, his thick accent shortening his words by depriving them of vowels "got a load a Wolfsbane to pull up. They're sick wi' verticillium wilt y'see, need t'be pulled up afore they taint th' rest"

"And what, might I ask, requires us to be doing this at night. In the Forbidden Forest. Two days before the full moon." Siri asked him, shocked that McGonagall would assign her a punishment that could very well reveal her most intimate secret.

"No other time 't could be done. An' tha's where 't grows anyways, keeps them nasty Werewolves from comin' on't school groun's" he answered her.

"You think Werewolves are nasty?" she questioned weakly, seeming to shrink in on herself slightly, which did not go un-noticed by her three student companions.

"o'course! Who dosen'? vicious an' cruel they are, don' know frien' from foe. Would kill us all in a blink if they 'ad th' chance!" he replied with no small amount of feeling

"You don't know that! For all you know, they're really just normal people who had it forced upon them, who don't hurt others. There is such a thing as Wolfsbane potion y'know Hagrid. It stops the animalistic nature of the Werewolf from taking over during the transformation."

"I m'nt no disrespec' Miss…" he trailed off, stroking his voluminous beard, as he realised that he did not in fact know her name.

"Black, Siri Black" she said as simply as she could, not overly fond of his opinion of her kind.

"Alrigh' then. And who'r you boys?" asked Hagrid "I know you two'r Weasley boys but I dunno you" he finished, gesturing at the twins and Lee in turn.

"I'm Lee Jordan" Introduced Lee

"And we're Fred and George" the twins said, as they often did, in unison.

"Now that introductions are over, could we please begin our detention? It's a tad cold out here so the sooner I'm inside, the happier I am." Siri part asked, part told Hagrid.

"Ah yeah…" he said sheepishly as he remembered why the quartet were actually at his home "Pu' these on an' follow me" he added, throwing a sack towards them.

Fred reached into the sack and pulled out a pair of thick gloves.

"Why do we need gloves?" he questioned

It was Siri who answered.

"Because every single part of the plant is poisonous. The muggles say it's because of something called "alkaline", but magical studies have shown that there is a malevolent magic that flows through it. The myth is that there was once a large pack of Werewolves that were running rampant in England sometime in the 10th century, and a foreign wizard was called in by our leaders of the time. This wizard was a Werewolf exterminator from the Himalayas, where once there was an extremely large population of Werewolves. Until he killed them all.

The exterminator was nicknamed "Wolfsbane" because he was the bane of all wolves, Were or not. Anyway, he brought with him a plant called Monkshood, which was later renamed after him. He planted an excessive amount of it where the Werewolves were reported to change during the full moon, due to the large population of them; he charged the plant with his own magic. This meant that the potency of the poison increased ten-fold, becoming poisonous even to humans and other creatures. Night came and the moon rose, and with it, rose the Werewolves. They howled all night, not at the moon, as was their custom, but in agony as the Monkshood slowly killed them. Not a single one was spared, even the children were massacred."

They were all staring at her, even Hagrid, by the time she finished her tale

"Sorry, I didn't mean to go off on a tangent." She apologised

"No, it's fine" said Lee as the others continued to stare "How do you even know all of that?" he asked, curious

"One of Sirius' oldest friends is a Werewolf, along with another person close to his heart, and I've been researching it as long as I could remember to try and find a cure or pain relief better than the Wolfsbane potion. I find it cruel that they have to consume the plant that murdered so many of their kind to retain control of their body and mind." She answered, being as honest as possible

"That's… pretty cool actually. Selfless almost." He said in awe

"Selfless?" she parroted, looking at something they couldn't see "no, it's really very selfish, believe me" she added the second part under her breath, but for the second time that day, she did not add it quietly enough.

The trio of boys shared a look that went un-noticed by Siri, one that promised a discussion between them later that night. They were suspicious now, and would remain so for a while yet.

"Um, we shoul' ge' goin'" said Hagrid, jerking his head in the direction of the forest.

Siri blinked, jolting out of whatever thoughts had been clouding her sight and filling her mind, and nodded at the man. She followed after him silently, leaving the boys to give chase as they were left behind by Hagrid's large stride and Siri's quick pace.

The forest was something else entirely. The moonlight filtered through the leaves, the pale beams only making the darkness seem deeper. Trees twined around each other, strangling and pulling, fighting for a place at the highest part of the canopy where the most light landed. It seemed that even the forest had the malignant nature that could be found in many of the creatures that made their home within it.

There was no path, just a narrow gap between the closely growing trees that followed no straight course. Fred and George were walking closely together, each taking comfort in the presence of the other. Lee's head was snapping around at each sound, flinching as only a person expecting something to attack them could. Hagrid was striding slightly ahead of the group, confident in his previous experience and encounters with the inhabitants of the forest.

Siri was still silent. She walked sedately behind Hagrid, asking no questions and casting no glances at the woods around her. The howl that sounded far in the distance didn't faze her. The screech of an untamed owl hunting did not make her jump as it did for the boys. The glowing eyes that watched them all hungrily from the spaces between the trees did not frighten her. She was too deep within her contemplation to even notice when Fred prevented her from walking away from the group and into the clutches of the multitude of species that would surely see her as prey and devour her without a second thought.

After ten minutes of walking, they came to a small clearing where the moonlight fell to the ground unhindered by the thick canopy of the forest. Within this clearing, there was a line of deep blue, almost purple, flowers that stood in orderly lines. Standing at two feet tall, the plants kept watch on the forest, stretching out into the darkness of the forest on either side of the clearing. If the myth Siri told them had any foundation in the truth, Werewolves would steer clear of this place. The creatures might be animals, but they were not stupid. They would not want to die just to bite a student.

Siri sneezed.

"Hagrid, I-I can't do this" she stuttered, sneezing once more

"wha'd'ye mean?" he asked, bewildered "This is yer detention, ye 'ave 't d'it!"

"No, I physically can. Not. Do. This." She replied, sneezing three times in a row after finishing her sentence

"Y'ave 't!" stated Hagrid, looking at her suspiciously now.

"Unless you want me to die, I really, truly can't." she told him, glaring at the gargantuan man before her.

The Weasley twins looked at each other, shock written into their features.

"Siri, you mean to say-" started George

"-that you are in fact-" continued Fred

"-what most idiotic wizards-"

"-consider an evil-"

"-bloodthirsty-"

"-mindless-"

"-beast?"

"If that's how you want to –_achoo_- put it, then yes. I am -_achoo-_, in fact, a Werewolf. And I will –_achoo- die_ if I don't get out of –_achoo-_ here soon!" she shouted, bracing herself for the rejection, the scorn, the _hatred_ that so often appeared in the faces of people who had been lied to by a "beast".

Lee was the first to step forward and venture his opinion

"I stand by what I said before."

Siri stared at him the way he had stared at her after her spiel on Wolfsbane, with shock and awe.

"You think it's awesome?" she whispered, expression hopeful

"I haven't known you all that long, but you were the first person to talk to me at all on the way to Hogwarts. Most of the others ignored me because of my skin colour, and my so called "status" as a muggleborn. I found out this morning, when you left potions, that you are the heiress of one of the oldest pureblood families in all of England, maybe even the world. The Slytherins were saying how you were some sort of Anomaly, because purebloods don't associate with "mud-bloods" and "blood traitors" or even people of my skin colour. And don't think I didn't see you punch Burskin in the face when he called me _that name_ after lunch!" he explained

Siri was absolutely shell shocked, this was the most Lee had ever said to anyone at school so far, and he was saying it in her defence. She didn't need to think, she threw herself at her friend, wrapping him in a bone-crushing hug that conveyed everything she couldn't with words.

The twins, being raised in a magical family, were more knowledgeable about Werewolves. At least, knowledgeable of the rumours and propaganda that surrounded Siri's kind. They were struggling to overcome years of lies that had been told to them, accidently and on purpose, by their parents, th ministry, everyone.

"They lied to us-" Fred hissed

"-they told us Werewolves would-" George whispered in turn

"-rip us limb from limb-"

"-bite us at any chance-"

"-capture us before the full moon-"

"-keep us in their caves, _caves,_-"

"-till they could turn us-"

"-made us think they aren't people-"

"-when they should know better-"

"-the ministry is the monster here-"

"-not the Werewolves, not you Siri-"

"-we'll help you however we can." They finished together, expressions fierce.

"R-really?" she stuttered again.

"Really, starting with yelling at McGonagall for assigning you this as your detention" they replied, walking over to her and each slinging an arm over her shoulder.

Siri almost cried, only the teachers at school, minus the defence teacher, as she would likely fall prey to the curse that plagued that one teaching position, Sirius, Harry, and two of her Neighbours knew exactly what she was, and only the later four had taken it as well as her boys had. For they were her boys now, her pack, and she would defend them with her life.

"Thank you, just-just, thank you so very much." Siri stuttered gratefully "now could we…" she stopped, caught in a violent sneezing fit.

"Hagrid, we've got to go. Now." Stated George, looking at the gamekeeper

"Alrigh' I'll 'ave t' ge' some older studen's ou' 'ere la'er" he allowed

"We've got to get her to the hospital wing as fast as we can." Lee told the twins as he scooped Siri up with surprising strength for his small stature "she was here for far too long, we don't want what happened in her myth to become truth tonight, do we?" he questioned rhetorically, taking of at a run back in the direction of the school.

Fred and George took up positions on either side of the boy as he ran, wands out at the ready, prepared to combat anything that tried to get their way. Siri was hacking now, spitting up phlegm from her lungs onto the ground before them. They broke free of the forest as the phlegm began to turn red.

"I think I know how the Wolfsbane affects her!" panted Lee "the magic causes the plants natural poison to become airborne, and changes the effect it has on the body. Instead of causing the body to go screwy, clammy skin, the feeling of thousands of ants running all over you etcetera, it gets inhaled and causes the lungs to start deteriorating."

"If you're right-" began Fred

"-then we don't have long" finished his brother gravely

The trio raced across the grounds, pushing themselves far beyond their own limits. They burst through the large doors to the entrance hall and pounded up the stairs, uncaring that it was well past curfew, uncaring that Filch was racing after them and screaming for them to stop, uncaring that they had just slammed into a prefect and lost points for Gryffindor. All they cared about was getting Siri to Madam Pomfrey as soon as they possibly could, because she was only getting worse.

By the time they reached the hospital wing and roused the nurse from her bed with incessant knocking, their breathing was as laboured as Siri's.

"What happened to her?" screeched Madam Pomfrey

"Werewolf… Wolfsbane inhalation… five minutes worth… almost ten minutes ago" puffed Lee, hoping beyond hope that his friend would be alright.

"Wolfsbane inhalation!? What the hell was Minerva thinking! No, Severus was in charge of assigning detentions this week… wait!" she shouted, rounding on them with narrowed eyes "you know. How? When?" she hissed

"Later!" roared Fred, shocking the woman

"You have a patient to take care of." George added quietly, explaining his brothers outburst.

Madam Pomfrey, reminded of the fact that the boys had brought someone to her for treatment, burst into action. She had Lee lie Siri down on one of the multiple beds that filled the pristine hospital wing and disappeared into a backroom. Clanking and cursing could be heard as the nurse dug through her supply for a potion she hadn't had to use since Remus Lupin had been at school over a decade earlier.

She returned with a vial containing a Tincture of Digitalis and a bottle of diluted essence of mandrake. Lee, Fred, and George were still standing where she had left them, crowded around Siri's bed. She shoved past George, who was standing closest to Siri's head, so that she could pour both liquids down the girl's throat.

There was no change. In fact, Siri became worse. Her decaying trachea had caused a bulge in her oesophagus, which meant that no liquid could get to her stomach. The chances of her survival were growing slimmer and slimmer. Madame Pomfrey pulled out her wand and began making circular gestures above Siri's chest, muttering "instaurabo organum" over and over as she did so.

The still conscious members of the quartet were inwardly berating themselves, if they had been faster, more observant, stronger, they could have prevented this. Now, because of their failings, their friend was going to die.

Lee was the most distraught. His first magical friend was dying in the hospital, and he was blaming himself. He took Siri's hand, stubbornness setting in.

"You are _not_ going to die" he stated "you can't. I won't let you." With this declaration, he pictured his magic, a fiery green ball at the centre of his being, and tugged a large chunk of it off. 'Go to her, fix her' he thought as the magic streamed out of him and into Siri through the conduit their linked hands had created. Lee swayed on the spot, exhaustion nearly causing him to topple down to the floor.

"What?" exclaimed Madam Pomfrey as she cast a diagnostic spell "her lungs and trachea are healing themselves? How…" she once more rounded on the boys and spotted Lee swaying "you, Mister Jordan, you did this?" she questioned

Lee just nodded at her, too tired now to do anything else. Black spots were beginning to cloud his vision, and sleep was sounding more and more appealing. He smile at the nurse and his two red-headed friends and said "night" before he collapsed from magical fatigue. The twins barely managed to catch him before he smacked the floor.

"What happened?" they asked her, concern painting their faces a pale white now that half of their quartet was in the sleeping realm.

"Magical exhaustion." She stated "Mister Jordan here sent a large amount of his magic into your friend Miss Black, likely with a command along the lines of "heal her". I've not seen someone so young harness their magic in such a way before. I swear that boy is born to be a healer, or I'll paint myself orange and fly to the moon." She finished, shaking her head slightly from side to side as she removed the out cold boy from the twins' grasp and placed him on the bed next to Siri.

"Did it work?" they questioned together

"It did. The tissue in her lungs is repairing at an accelerated rate far faster than anything I could have done. I fear without Mister Jordan's interference, we may have lost her." she responded sombrely "I do not look forward to informing Sirius"

The red-heads smiled half-heartedly at her, understanding why she wouldn't want to be the bringer of bad news to the man that was extremely protective of the children in his care. Not that it stopped him teaching them potentially harmful pranks though; they apparently came under a different category.

"When will they be out?" asked Fred, once more drawing close to his twin for comfort

"Mister Jordan? Tomorrow, possibly the day after. Miss Black? I'll be keeping her till the sixth, there's a full moon in two days, and I don't want people asking why she had to go straight back to the hospital wing after only leaving it the day before." She answered "and yes, you may visit when you can, seeing as neither are in critical condition"

"Thanks Madam Pomfrey, you're a life saver" joked George

"It's my job," she began, smiling slightly at the pun "now off with you then, you have classes tomorrow!"

"G'night Madam Pomfrey" the twins' told her as they headed for the exit "and really, thank you."

"Oh Remus, if only you could see this" she whispered, thinking of the boy who had once come to her every full moon to be taken to the shrieking shack. If only he hadn't estranged himself from Sirius, he could have met Siri and seen that he wasn't alone, and that his friends weren't flukes.

If only.

**A/N: had no time for editing, seeing as I just finished this at 8:02 NZ time. I have been so busy! I suddenly gained a social life Thursday before last so now I have maybe an hour to myself each day, and that gets used for homework. Lucky me. Anyway, I didn't intend for the secret to come out so early, I was just writing and it… happened. You know? I think I've set the stage a little for Lupin (who we may see before Siri's fifth year). **

**Now for the usual authors plea: review?**


	6. Of New Tales And New Friends

Chapter Five: Of New Tales And New Friends

"unghhh… where am I?" groaned Siri as she forced her sticky eyes to open, only to snap them shut again after being blinded by the mid-morning light.

"You're in the hospital wing dear" said a kindly voice from her right.

"Already?" she questioned "I'd been hoping to last at least a week before having Sirius attempt to forcibly return me home"

The owner of the voice chuckled slightly, seeing as Siri was completely accurate in her description of Sirius' reaction. The man had shouted at Dumbledore for a good hour or so before he was finally calmed down. He was fiercely protective of his family, and for good reason too considering how many he lost during the last wizarding war.

Siri opened her eyes once more, blinking rapidly as she adapted to the brightness of her surroundings. It did not help in the slightest that almost every surface in the entire room was white, and not just any white, but the kind of white that reflects light back at triple the intensity it was to begin with.

Once successful, she glanced down at herself. She was dressed in a pair of cotton pajamas that matched the colour theme of the rest of the hospital wing. Surprisingly, her hair was not the mangy matted mess it had been previous to the incident in the forest, but was instead smooth and soft. It brought a smile to her face as she realised someone must have taken the time to clean and brush her hair, which was no easy feat on the most normal of days.

The pale curtain that blocked Siri from seeing more of the hospital wing was being pulled back, exposing her to a new flood of light. With the light came a figure in garb that resembled that of a nun. The figure, likely the person who had answered her earlier question, was holding two glass cups.

"What day is it?" questioned Siri as she used her elbows to prop herself up into more of a sitting position.

"Monday fourth" The woman answered shortly as she placed the glass containers on the bedside cabinet "now drink this"

"I slept through the whole weekend?" Siri moaned "not cool, so very not cool"

"You just survived prolonged exposure to Wolfsbane, and you're whinging about having slept through the weekend?" asked the incredulous woman rhetorically, voice rising as she spoke

Siri 'Pfft'-d at her, raising her brows "I do not _whinge_, I may moan and groan, shout and scream, hiss and spit, along with a multitude of other forms of complaint, but I _never_ whinge"

"My apologies then" said the woman, somewhat surprised at the vehement response.

"Who are you by the way?" asked Siri, returned to her previous curious state.

"Madame Pomfrey, now will you please drink the potions?" answered the matron, gesturing towards the untouched cups sitting at Siri's right hand side.

"Okey-doke" said Siri, tipping her head back and downing each of them in a single gulp.

"I see the family resemblance now" smiled Madam Pomfrey, elaborating further at Siri's questioning look "your father drank his potions the exact same way, with the expertise of one who has needed to do so many times before. He was calm and collected normally, but when it came to the hospital wing, he tried to stay as long as possible, even going so far as to become my assistant. Actually, I think he first met your mother properly here"

"Can you tell me?" whispered Siri, as her knowledge of her father was restricted to Sirius' memories, while her knowledge of her mother was almost non-existent.

The Matron smiled at her, taking a seat on the edge of the young girl's bed before beginning her tale.

"He had seen her around the school many times, but never really took notice of her. One day, during the last month of fifth year, Lyra came into the hospital wing carrying a friend from Ravenclaw over her shoulder. Regulus was taking care of patients while I took inventory of the supplies to see what needed replacing and what needed replenishing. I left him to take care of it, as from what I could tell it was only mild concussion.

Your father was astounded by her strength, and it took him a few moments to remember that he was meant to be helping the patient, not gaping at a girl. He directed Lyra to one of the beds and had her lie her friend down on the bed. He asked what happened, and Lyra told him that her brother had pushed the other girl into a wall, knocking her head against the stone in the process.

Regulus gave the Ravenclaw a potion that would wake her up slowly without straining her body. As it was working, he and Lyra began to talk, starting with him questioning her incredible strength. She explained that she was an archer of international standing, being second in the world for her age group. Regulus told her that he had though Archery a man's sport. She punched him in the face and stormed out. Probably not the best foot to start off on, but I think it stuck with him later in life, as from what I've heard, he never antagonised her again. She'd earned his respect for treating him like a human being, not the heir of house black."

Siri was leaning forward, wide eyed as the older woman finished the story.

"My mum is amazing" she stated, smiling at the similarities between herself and her late mother

"That, my dear, was never in doubt" Said the matron "did you know she was one of the best ward makers ever produced by this school? Worked for Gringots for a time, and rose right through the ranks. Only person I can think of who could match her is Bill Weasley."

"Wow. Y'know what? I don't wanna do healing anymore; Lee can have it all to himself. I wanna do warding like mum." Siri decided. She knew Lee was the reason she was alive, she had felt his magic purging the poison from her lungs and repairing her cells. Speaking of which, she needed to thank the boy.

"Can I leave?" she asked the Matron, ignoring the tiredness in her limbs

"Normally, I would say yes, but the full moon is tonight. If you were to leave only to be back the next day, many would become suspicious." Answered Madam Pomfrey strictly

"Hasn't Sirius told you?" she said, confused her uncle hadn't shared with the woman

"Told me what?" parroted the nurse

"That I'm completely conscious during the moon. I don't fight her, so it's more symbiotic than two minds battling for control of a single body." Siri replied, completely Serious for once

"You treat your wolf instincts as a separate person to yourself?" Inquired Madam Pomfrey

"Not the instincts, no. those are the meeting of both of us. I mean during the full moon. Honestly, how could nobody have figured this out earlier? Contrary to popular belief, a werewolf isn't a mindless beast; it's just a strange combination of a human consciousness with a wolf's consciousness. The wolf instincts generally lower the intelligence level, but it can happen in reverse. It's part of the reason why some Werewolves can talk and others can't" she explained "over the past few years, I've been working on talking with my wolf, and she's just begun to reply. Only one word answers and grunts so far, but I'm making progress"

"This is… unprecedented. Siri, you must start to keep a journal. This research could be life changing for many of the more reluctant of your kind." Instructed the Matron, thinking of how many would benefit should Siri succeed and replicate that success with other werewolves.

"Okay, I'd like to help" said Siri, her own thoughts turning to the mysterious Moony. Sirius told her and Harry stories of his school days, but always used the Nicknames that he and his friends came up with. Moony was a werewolf too, though Siri could never remember having met him. He hated his condition, so if recording what she was doing could make him come see her, Harry, and Sirius, she'd do it. If it wasn't for tales of the kind and thoughtful Moony, proof of a good Werewolf, Siri would likely have sunk into depression long ago.

"Go back to sleep now, you won't be getting much shut eye tonight" said the Nurse as she dragged herself out of her thoughts.

Siri just nodded, closing her eyes and pulling the covers up to her chin.

…..

When Siri woke again, the daylight was fading quickly.

"Come along now, we've got to get you to the shack" said Madam Pomfrey as she took Siri's hand and guided her from her bed and out of the hospital wing.

They hurried through the castle, not wanting to be spotted by any roaming students. Curfew was earlier on full moon nights, the excuse being that the school didn't want any rouge werewolves coming on to the grounds and attacking students. In reality, it was so no one would see Siri leaving at night.

Pausing at the entrance, Madam Pomfrey cast a disillusionment charm on the pair of them. It felt exactly like the time Harry dropped a Stink sap pellet on her head, cold, gross, and runny. This precaution was taken to prevent any Gryffindors up in their tower from glancing out the window and spotting them out after curfew.

Shivers ran up Siri's spine as she exited the building. It would be her very first full moon without Sirius there to help her. That, and it was bloody cold. Frost was already crystallising on individual blades of grass, making them chill and crunchy beneath Siri's bare feet. She curled her toes, pulling up the occasional clump as she made her way to the womping willow, enjoying the sensation.

The Willow was still when they arrived, not twitching at all at the chill breeze that was blowing from the south. The Matron made to cast a spell, but Siri stopped her, instead picking up a decent sized rock from the ground and throwing it at the knot in the wood she had seen in Sirius' memories. It hit with a solid thunk.

"I'll be okay from here, and thank you for the help" Siri smiled, waving off the nurse's concern

She walked towards the hole in the tree roots and climbed inside. The tunnel was dirt, no supports to be seen, making Siri hope that it was propped up by magic. Making her way forward, she found that she could stand without bashing her head on the roof, though as she got older that would change. At the end of the tunnel, a trapdoor was set in the roof. Pushing it up, Siri pulled herself into the recently cleaned Shrieking Shack. She closed the trapdoor behind her, bolting it with its brand new locks.

"Y'know," Siri said to herself "this'd make a great club house"

She began exploring her Shack, it was hers now as far as she was concerned, and she would be marking it as soon as she changed and wouldn't feel so stupid doing it. There was a lounge room with wooden furniture, nothing fancy, but enough to make the place slightly more… homey. Through one of the doors was a small bedroom with a simple wooden bed. Through the other was a small kitchen with running water, a pantry filled with non-perishables, and a gas stove in case she got the munchies at some point. All the windows were boarded up, not letting any light through. It would have been completely dark if not for the lumos balls on the ceiling that were kept running by an array of runes.

Despite not being able to see it, Siri felt the moon as soon as it appeared in the sky.

Pain ripped through her body as bones became snapped twigs and shattered like glass dropped on concrete. Muscles were ripping and tearing, un-knitting themselves and reforming around the mending bones. Every nerve in her body felt like it was being electrocuted, set on fire, and drowned at the same time. Siri was pulled into a black expanse within her own mind, as she had been every moon since beginning to talk to Artie, Artie being what she had dubbed the wolf's consciousness.

For the very first time, there was someone else already within her mind when she got there. Sitting in the middle of the black field was a girl, her own age judging by the stature. The girl turned to look at her, and Siri saw her own face mirrored back at her. the only obvious difference between them was the eyes, Siri's being a deep green, Artie's being a golden Amber colour.

"Hi" said Siri, sitting down next to Artie.

"Hello" replied Artie

"What do you think of Hogwarts so far?" she asked, making conversation, not really expecting a full answer

"That they should be careful where they put their Wolfsbane." Stated Artie

Siri stared at the girl "either you've been holding out on me, or something weird happened"

"Something weird" clarified Artie "the combination of the Wolfsbane fiasco and your friends magic brought me forward and made me more human"

"You don't mind do you? I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable" said Siri anxiously

Artie snorted in true Siri-like fashion "you don't want me to be uncomfortable? I'd have thought you'd want me to hurt as much as you do, after all, if I wasn't here, you'd be normal"

"What do I have to gain from you suffering? It's not your fault I was bitten. And besides, normal is boring. I'd rather have another person in my head than be all by myself, this way I can never be lonely!" Siri exclaimed, looking surprised that Artie would think she would be so revenge-y

Artie looked taken aback, she had completely expected the other girl to turn on her, that her kindness was just an act to get her to materialise so she would have something to hate.

"But hating you would be like hating a part of myself, which is stupid" Siri said in response to Artie's thought

"I didn't say that out loud" she stated

"So? None of this is technically said out loud; we're in the subconscious real, remember? Our minds just perceive our thoughts as us talking because that's the easiest way to think about it. In reality, everything we say is thought." Siri replied, flopping on to her back.

"Did you eat a Psychology book?" teased Artie, poking Siri in the side and laughing at the girlish squeal the other girl emitted

"Inhaled, actually" Siri corrected.

"Ready to try controlling a body together?" asked Artie, eager to stretch her legs.

"I take right, you take left?" returned Siri, smiling still.

"You got a deal."

…..

It took almost an hour, but the two got the hang of controlling a single body in sync down pat. Now, they were just running around in circles, enjoying the movement.

'Best moon ever' thought Siri

'I second that' added Artie.

'There is so much we can do with this!' thought Siri 'I'm going to teach you to write with my left hand, and use my wand, everything! It can be in case I get knocked out and you need to defend us'

'That would be cool I guess' Artie thought back 'it'd be tricky, but worth it'

…..

Time sped by after that, the girls only realising that the moon had gone down when the pain hit. Bones crackled like burning logs, muscles torn to shreds, Nerves being stampeded over by a herd of wild horses. Siri sat down, panting.

'Artie?' she probed

'Still here' she heard faintly from within the recesses of her mind

'We'll have to work on this' she told her

'Oh hell yes' was the vehement response 'your mind is boring'

And like that, the connection was cut.

Hearing knocking from bellow and guessing it was Madam Pomfrey with a change of clothes, Siri unlocked the trapdoor. The Matron climbed up into the Shack, muttering something along the lines of "this was so much easier last time"

"Here" she said, passing Siri a small bundle.

Opening it, Siri found her uniform. Her one mind, not the normal school one. Madam Pomfrey must have had them washed for her.

"Thanks again Madam Pomfrey" Siri said, smiling gratefully at the woman

"It's what I'm paid for" she joked "any luck?"

"A huge amount. Artie has her own consciousness; I actually had a real conversation with her. We even shared our body, I took right, and she took left." Answered Siri, almost bouncing up and down in excitement.

The Matron just stared at her "you are just full of surprises aren't you?"

"Would I be a Black if I wasn't?"

**A/N: just a short one today, I have had no time at all. This was just written today (which has been the only time I've had three hours to spare. Sad, isn't it? It took me two and a half hours to write six pages… hopefully back up to my self set 4000 word minimum next time. For you newbies, I update once a fortnight on a Sunday. Thanks for reading!**


	7. Of Marauders And Potatoes

Chapter Six: Of Marauders And Potatoes

Due to the events of the previous night, Siri was ordered to stay in bed for one day longer. The boys were waiting for her when she and Madam Pomfrey arrived at the Hospital Wing.

"You look like crap" stated George bluntly eying her dishevelled clothing and sickly appearance

"Happy crap, but crap all the same" tagged on Fred when her face lit up at the sight of them

She smacked both twins none-to-gently around the back of the head before moving on to pull Lee into a hug.

"What? No hugs for the mag-" started Fred

"-nificent Weasley twins?" finished George, taking over mid-word

"Ignore them, they think they're funny" Said Lee, repeating the advice Siri had given him almost a week earlier.

"Enough now children, Miss Black needs her rest" interrupted the nurse, cutting of George and Fred's indignant shouts of "Oi!"

"When will you be back with the living?" asked Fred, raising a hand to his chin and attempting to look suspicious.

"Yeah Siri, we have things we gotta do" added George, mimicking his brother with limited success, looking more like he'd bitten into a particularly sour lemon.

"Tomorrow" said Madam Pomfrey, beginning to grow impatient "now run along boys, I'm sure you have something you need to do"

"Bye Siri" chorused the young Gryffindors as they jogged off in the direction of the Great Hall, having apparently skipped breakfast in favour of seeing Siri before she was hidden away again.

"See ya tomorrow" yawned Siri tiredly, rubbing her eyes as she re-entered the Hospital Wing.

"You have good friends" said the nurse as Siri crawled back into her bed.

"I know"

...

"I'm back!" shouted Siri as she entered the rapidly filling Great Hall, throwing her arms extravagantly to the sides and tipping her head back. Students of all ages turned in their seats to stare at her as she continued; "did you miss me?"

"No!" Charlie shouted jokingly, causing a ripple of laughter to spread through the hall

Siri glowered at him, pouting as she crossed her arms and shook her head. "No cookies for you." she said as she made her way over to where Fred, George, and Lee had plonked themselves down.

"Hiya Siri!" said the twins as she sat in the space they had saved for her

"Hey guys, how's your morning been?" she inquired, seeing as her own was fairly boring, consisting only of getting out of the Hospital Wing at long last.

"Alright; same old same old y'know?" replied Lee, who was tucking in to a large helping of bacon and eggs "We overslept this morning so we got here a little later than usual. The bacon was nearly all gone so we put some aside for you"

"That was thoughtful, but I'm actually a vegetarian" smiled Siri

"What?" the three boys said in perfect unity

"I'm a V-E-G-E-T-A-R-I-A-N vegetarian" repeated Siri, spelling the word out to them in a tone that suggested she thought they were being daft.

"You don't like meat!?"

"How do you... How..."

"No... Bacon?"

"How do you live without meat?"

"Insanity! Impossible! Ridiculous"

"Eat the meat, you must eeeeeeat iiiiit"

The response was a jumbled mess of varied reactions, the strangest of which being Fred attempting to hypnotize Siri with a piece of bacon.

"What're you lot on about now- oh hey Siri, nice entrance earlier" said Angelina, one of Siri's dorm mates

Fred had given up trying to hypnotize Siri and was now poking her in the cheek with his piece of bacon repeating "eat it" over and over again.

"Leave off you lot, the girl has just gotten out of the Hospital Wing, do you want to send her back already?" demanded Angelina as she pried the bacon from Fred's fingers.

"Thanks Angelina, I owe you one. I was about to blow my top at that idiot" said Siri as she snatched a napkin from said idiots lap to wipe the bacon juice from her face.

"No worries, what was that about anyway?" questioned the curious eleven year old.

"Told them I'm a vegetarian and their pea sized brains just couldn't handle it" explained Siri, making a joke at the boys' expense

Angelina giggled before asking Siri why "are you allergic? Do you hate the taste? Is it because of animal cruelty or something?"

"No to all of the above, I'm just proving a point" answered Siri, not alluding at all to what the point actually was.

"And what is the point?" asked George, having finally recovered from realising his friend was a veg-o.

"tell you what, I'll tell you the point when Voldemort himself comes to Hogwarts with an army of Death Eaters prepared to kill us all and I make an epic entrance by just..." Siri trailed off as she noticed everyone was staring at her in shock "what did I... Oh, Voldemort"

Everyone in the hall jolted forward slightly, with the exception Of the younger muggle born students.

"Grindlewald" said Siri, watching the reaction of her fellows closely.

The name Grindlewald only caused people to give her strange looks and start muttering amongst themselves about her sanity, or lack thereof.

"Mordred" Siri said the name of one of the wizarding world's most notorious villain, still watching her peers closely.

Mordred's name just caused more muttering.

"Voldemort" she repeated, watching as almost everyone jolted forward again "you guys are seriously still scared of that old potato? If he was alive, he'd be about fifty by now. But he ain't alive. He was killed by my cousin Harry when the kid was just one. That was eight, nine-ish years ago.

And if you flinch at the name Voldemort, why don't you react to Grindlewald and Mordred? You. Have. No. Consistency. At ALL. In their own respective time periods, the pair of them killed thousands more than Voldemort ever did. That's without mentioning Mordreds tendency to beat women of all status, let alone his reputation for torture and mutilation. Be afraid of all of them, or none.

And look at you adults! Teaching children to fear the name of a man dead and gone, if we're scared of dead people who did awful things, I can assure you that many of the ghosts living in Hogwarts have done terrible things. Not Dark Lord or Lady Level, but still pretty bad.

Sure, some people say Voldemort is still out there, and he probably is mind you, but that is no reason to be scared of a name, a name I can't even take seriously. Voldemort translates to 'flight of death' in French, along with sounding extremely similar to moldy wart. I can't believe I have to tell all of you this, especially considering I am the youngest first year here!"

Siri finished her rant by crossing her arms and glaring at the present Hogwarts populace, daring them to contradict her.

"Miss Black" began a rather flustered professor McGonagall as she stood from her seat at the staff table.

"Gimme all the detention you want prof, but I am gonna say Voldemort at every meal from now on until you all get used to it." interrupted Siri, spreading her arms and closing her eyes as she tilted her head upwards in a stance reminiscent of the one she had used in jest not moments earlier, preparing to accept her punishment. "Oh hold on a sec" Siri interrupted again, cutting off McGonagall as she made to finish her sentence "could you also get Binns to teach recent history? Seems more useful to me to learn about the wizarding wars than of goblin wars that happened millennia ago."

"Just go" sighed the professor as she deflated back into her chair.

Siri jumped down from the bench she had unconsciously mounted during her speech and made her way to the exit. With a jaunty wave, she walked out of the Great Hall.

"VOLDEMORT" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Siri's sharp hearing picked up on the multiple, equally sharp, intakes of breath within the Hall.

Her laughter echoed throughout the entire castle.

...

It had been a week since Siri began to shout Voldemort at random intervals. During that time, she got a kick out of saying random words that start the same as Voldemort, e.g. Volkswagen, voluptuous, vole, and so on.

A majority of the students now shunned her, the majority of them being seniors who were able to remember some of the terrible things that Voldemort had done. Lucky for Siri, her friends and a few of the other first year Gryffindors stood by her, partly because they trusted someone their own age over people they hardly knew, and partly because what she had done was so very Gryffindor-ish that it would make no sense to follow the crowd.

The Slytherins by far had the worst reaction. In the week preceding the "V-bomb" (as the twins were calling it) Siri had been pushed down three different staircases, shoulder barged into walls on multiple occasions, and had all her potions explode in her face. Only her advanced capabilities saved her from serious harm.

By the time Siri was pushed down the fourth staircase, her friends had had enough.

"You can't let them push you around like that Siri" began George as he sat down on the arm of the plush red armchair Siri was slung over

"Yeah, it's the same as you saying 'I was wrong, come punish me'" Fred elaborated, putting on a squeaky high pitch voice that sounded absolutely nothing like it was meant to

"I know that dummies, I've just been waiting a bit so they don't suspect anything" said Siri "and I don't sound like that! Just wait till you hit puberty my friend…"

"Really Siri?" questioned Lee, referring to the first thing Siri said, not entirely sure that his friend was telling them the truth.

"Really. I wanted to save our first prank for something that actually deserves punishment. Such as attempting to hurt me." explained Siri, shifting in her seat so that she could reach her pockets.

"What's the plan then?" asked the twins, eagerness written into their every movement.

"We're going to recreate the Marauders first prank" Siri answered, smirk growing on her face.

"The Marauders?" echoed Lee, glancing at the Weasley twins to see if they had any idea "who're they?"

"Only the greatest pranksters of all time" replied Siri, tone of voice somewhat dreamy.

Realisation dawned on her red headed friends.

"You mean the ones that permanently turned the floor of the west end of the sixth floor corridor into a trampoline?" asked Fred, eyes widening.

"The charm is over a decade old but it still works like the day it was cast. Those guys are amazing" added George, almost drooling at the thought of being such a skilled wizard.

By the time his friends had finished, Lee had caught on "Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, Wormtail" he said

"Don't know, Not telling, James Potter, Peter Pettigrew" said Siri "and it was Lily Potter who cast the charm thank you very much. It was part of the Marauders so called 'final gift to Hogwarts'. Everything done by the Marauders was dismantled, but the skill in the charm casting along with the intricate runic array that powers the trampoline charm led the teachers to leave it up as an example of fine spell-work. Or at least that's what they tell students when they ask, my information says it's because Aunty Lily was so bloody good at charms that even Flitwick couldn't reverse it."

"How do you _know _all this stuff?" breathed the twins, who were just about falling out of their seats as they craned forward.

"It's all in-" Siri paused as she buried her arm up to the shoulder in one of her right hand side inner pockets "-this"

'This' turned out to be a brand new book. Siri held her hand out to Fred so that he could flick through it. Anticipation lit up his features, along with George and Lee's as the latter two peered over Fred's shoulder. Anticipation changed to confusion as page after page was turned and found to be blank.

"But… There's nothing in here?" Questioned Lee, who was half thinking it was some sort of prank, and half thinking that Siri had grabbed the wrong book.

Siri made a 'give-me' motion with her hands, leading Fred to gently throw the book to her. With a quick flick of her right wrist, her wand was in her hand. The tip rested on the parchment lightly, only minimal pressure behind it.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" recited Siri, motioning for her friends to stop staring at her and start looking at the formerly blank pages of the book.

Ink was spreading out from the tip of Siri's wand, swirling across the pages like a fast moving early morning fog. Splotches began to form amidst the inky mist, shrinking and writhing until they formed random letters. The letters began to shift on the page, eventually forming words that read:

'**Messers Padfoot, Prongs, and Moony **

**Welcome Siri Black and Friends **

**To the Marauders Handbook.**

**Mister Padfoot says: break their legs kiddo**

**Mister Prongs says: Only the Slytherins, and on behalf of Lily-Flower, only the mean ones**

**Mister Moony says: don't get caught'**

"What _is_ this?" asked George, once more in awe with the powerful charms cast by the Marauders.

"Can't you read? It's the Marauders Handbook" said Siri, elaborating further she continued "it has every prank they've ever pulled, every spell used to do it, every rune, every excuse for being out late. It's a pranking gold mine!"

Siri was fidgeting in her seat, impatient to get to the prank planning. Lee, George, and Fred were just as impatient, but seeing as they had not read the Handbook before, they were more reluctant to leave it behind.

"How do you know which one is the first prank? And in then most sensitive way possible, James Potter is dead, how is he talking to us? This book is new isn't it? And why isn't Wormtail in this one?" Questioned Fred firing off the questions he'd been holding in during Siri's demonstration in rapid succession.

"Firstly, each year is labelled. It's both to make it simpler to find things, and to make sure we don't over-reach ourselves. There's no point in planning an elaborate prank that you don't have the magical power to back up. Secondly, it's not actually Uncle James talking to us; it's just a spell-made imitation of his personality. It works the same as all the wizarding paintings really. Thirdly, the book is new, the spells in it aren't. The information in this was all compiled during October 1981. Uncle James was collecting the Information for Harry before he and the other Marauders started to forget details. Finally, Wormtail was Peter Pettigrew remember? The man who killed 13 innocent muggles while trying to frame Sirius for the betrayal of Uncle James and Aunty Lily? When Sirius put the stuff Uncle James had collected together, he left out Wormtail's parts. Fair enough too, I wouldn't want to read about the school years of a Friend-Betraying, Death-Eating, Innocent-Killing…" rambled Siri, trailing off into colourful curses that would have had Sirius soaping out her mouth, after adding a few of his own of course.

"Huh." Said Fred as he attempted to absorb the information that had just been flung at him.

All three of her boys were staring at the book, eyes wide and thoughts going faster than a bullet train as they considered the Mayhem they could cause with the help of Hogwarts most notorious pranksters.

"Prank time?" prodded Siri hopefully, breaking through the dreamy haze that had surrounded her friends "Or are there to many Wrackspurts in here for you to focus properly?"

"Oh- Wha- Yeah" stammered George, shaking himself to get rid of some invisible force.

"Prank time!" repeated Fred gleefully, eyes shining so much that Siri half thought they were about to start gushing glitter. Mind you, there is a charm for that in the Handbook.

"Wrackspurts?" Lee mimicked, apparently the only boy to catch Siri's little addition.

"Never you mind Lee, never you mind" Siri said, smiling to herself.

…..

"Finished?" whispered Siri, pulling Lee into one of the third floor corridors as they ran from Filch, who had been chasing them since they had fled the Dungeon.

"Ye-yeah" panted Lee as Siri pushed him into the room at the end of the corridor.

"Good, me too." Siri replied, locking the door behind them, and motioning for Lee to hush with a finger raised to her lips.

Lee nodded his understanding before turning to survey their hide-away. It was a relatively large room, made from the same stone as the rest of the castle. Cobwebs had taken over all of the corners, a spider perched in each. If he didn't know better, he'd almost think that the spiders were actually _watching_ him. Tilting his head downwards, he noticed that part of the floor was darker than the rest. Upon closer inspection, He realised it was a trapdoor.

Creeping towards it on light feet, Lee prepared to open the mysterious trapdoor.

"He's gone"

Siri's whisper had startled Lee, causing him to pitch forward and knock his head on the ground. The thud of his unconscious body hitting the ground alerted Siri to the fact something was wrong.

For the second time that night, Siri began a long string of expletives.

As she crouched down to scoop up her slightly shorter friend, she herself noticed the door in the floor. Making a mental note to check it out later with the rest of the new Marauders, she picked up Lee and headed for the corridor. Nudging the door open with her foot, she came face to face with the twins. Both of them smelt distinctly of Dungbombs, and neither was surprised when Siri reflexively head butted them both.

"Ow! That hurt!" they both exclaimed simultaneously, Fred clasping the left side of his head, George clasping the right side of his own head.

"Good!" whisper-shouted Siri "Maybe that'll teach you not togive me frights!"

"We're sorr-" the Weaselys cut off in the middle of their apologies as they spotted Lee in her arms "what happened to him?"

"I gave him a fright." She muttered, looking at her feet.

The two boys just burst out laughing at their friend's hypocrisy.

"Don't you wanna know how we found you so quick?" asked George, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"You're gonna liiike it!" Sing-songed Fred as he reached into his back pocket.

"Well?" said Siri, looking curious as she shifted Lee into a fireman's hold.

From his pocket, Fred drew a battered piece of Parchment.

"Don't tell me…" she began

"Oh yes my friend, what I have here-" started Fred, slinging his arm around his brother's shoulder

"-is in fact, the one, the only," continued George, copying Fred's action.

"Marauders Map!" they finished together with a flourish, bowing at the same time and holding the map out for Siri to look at more closely.

It was already functioning, as Fred had neglected to turn off the charm that made the writing visible. Siri could see her own foot prints right nest to Fred and George's on the map, with Lee's name written nearly on top of her own. Opening it wider, she found Filch's footsteps moving around the first floor, along with the names of a few of the teachers and prefects on duty.

"Nicked right out of his office we did" Fred said proudly, puffing up his chest.

"And what were you doing in his office in the first place?" asked Siri, a single eyebrow raised.

"We went a tad, er, _overboard_ with the Dungbombs…" explained George shifting from foot to foot in embarrassment as his cheeks coloured.

"No worries, you got the map out of it" said Siri, forgiving his silent apology. With a flick of her left wrist (as it was good practice to switch up which arm you holstered your wand on) her wand shot into her hand.

"Mischief Managed"

…..

**AN: and that's a wrap! I'm trying to pick up the pace a little bit now, as most of my ideas are coming from later on in the series. On another note, I'm trying to decide whether or not to follow J. plotline with my own embellishments, or whether to just, y'know, do whatever and go of in some random direction. **

**Your input would be greatly appreciated….**

**Speaking of input -sorry this has taken so long- thanks to all my brilliantly amazing reviewers:**

** .313  
lightbabe (who has reviewed twice)  
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**Awesomely wonderful Followers:**

**Beautiful dreaming warrior  
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**In typical corny fashion, thanks you lot, you've all made my day various times.**

**Thanks for reading girls and guys!**


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